The Red Reaper and The White Princess
by Winter1112
Summary: A love at first sight drabble series following the White Rose couple.
1. An Explosive Beginning

"Watch out you dolt!" Weiss Schnee shrieks as a girl in a red cloak runs into her luggage, scattering it about. But she is most concerned about the briefcase full of the dust she needs for her rapier. It had taken weeks of begging her father to even be able to bring enough to fill the chambers of her beloved Myrtenaster. And if it hadn't been for Klein sneaking the briefcase in with her personal effects, she wouldn't even had that much.

Her father enjoys watching her beg for everything. His widely known hatred of the faunus extending even to his own wolf faunus daughters.

This isn't the time! She needs to retrieve the precious dust containers before they break or get lost. There is no telling when she'll be able to get more. She knows she can call Klein or Whitley, and they will send her Lien or more dust as quickly as they can. But it takes them time. And she doesn't have that luxury. Retrieving the last vial full of volatile red dust, she spins around and glares at the….the….the…..

Dust, but she looks like the most adorable puppy in history right now, what with her midnight black and fire red tinted tail that is currently tucked between her legs, while her same colored wolf's ears lay flat on her head while she pokes her forefingers together in the most adorable way. But her eyes, dust it's like looking into twin pools of the purest silver. Eyes that she can't help but get lost in. She is so intent on those two perfect orbs that she doesn't realize that the red dust vile's stopper has come loose, leaking it's contents into the slight breeze. Not until….

"Ahh ahhh ahhhh." The silver eyed girl begins first, but Weiss's own sensitive nose quickly catches up as well.

"ACHOO!" Both young faunus women sneeze at once, the fireball that rises from it clearly visible from the other side of Beacon's campus.

Laying on the ground stunned, Weiss yelps in surprise as the red cloaked faunus girl flops down next to her with a giggle. "That was actually pretty awesome!"

"That was all the red dust I had left! What am I supposed to do now?!" Weiss begins to panic until she sees a brand new vial suddenly being waved in her face.

"Relax Snowflake, I gotcha. Sorry about that by the way."

"It's alright. My sister, brother and butler just wanted to make sure I would have everything I would need."

The red cloaked girl giggles as they lock eyes together again. "My name's Ruby, Ruby Rose!"

"Weiss. Do you know you smell like strawberries and cookies?"

Ruby just giggles as she moves closer to the suddenly blushing heiress. "And you smell like blueberries and coffee."

Weiss can't help but feel like her life has suddenly changed for the better.


	2. Night Time Musings

Ruby sighs as Yang keeps going on and on and on about this person or that person or how she'll make friends and how she needs to put herself out there.

All she can think of is Weiss. How beautiful her eyes are, how perfectly her wolf ears are shaped, how perfect the girl is. She even has the most adorable sneeze she has ever heard! Ruby was even distracted when Yang dragged her over to introduce her to the cat faunus who is doing a pretty good job of hiding her feline nature. But when they had devolved into one of their usual fistfights, she catches a whiff of blueberries and coffee.

"Some people are trying to sleep around here!"

Yang suddenly screams out. "Not you again!"

Ruby just grins as her tail wags. "Hello again!"

Weiss tucks a strand of hair behind her ear as she looks at Ruby with a blush. "Hi. Sorry for yelling, just this brute is noisy and she was hurting my ears."

Ruby's grin gets wider as she points her thumb at Yang, who is glaring at them both. "Yeah, my sister can be a loudmouth sometimes. Weird though, aren't you used to filtering out noises?"

Weiss's blush deepens as she looks down at the ground. "I've mostly been indoors my whole life. My father has always treated me as an embarrassment."

"Well then, come on and I'll show you how my mom taught me to do it." Ruby holds a hand out to the beautiful wolf girl, who takes it shyly.

Maybe starting at Beacon two years early won't be such a bad thing after all.


	3. Initiation

Neither girl say a word as they lock eyes with each other. They are both well aware of what Ozpin said. Weiss smiles shyly as her tail begins to wag gently, as Ruby grins happily. Neither of them could explain why they had this instant attraction to the other from the moment they met, but neither of them were about to argue.

Weiss holds a hand out, which Ruby takes firmly with her grin still in place. In unison, the Red Reaper and the White Princess set out together, both young women now believing firmly that no matter what life throws at them they will be facing it together.

Including a giant Nevermore and a giant Deathstalker.

Weiss saved Ruby from the Deathstalker, earning one of those brilliant grins she is coming to adore and cherish. For her it is like basking in a light so pure it has no equal.

Ruby saved them all from the Nevermore, especially the white haired wolf faunus who's sky blue eyes remind her of the skies she dreams of being able to touch one day.

Ruby was pleasantly surprised when Weiss was the first to reach her, laughing happily as she launches herself into her new partner's waiting embrace. Both of them noting to themselves that the hug simply felt right, as if they belonged in each other's arms. Sky blue meets Quicksilver as they share a smile.

Somehow, they both feel as if they have come home at last.


	4. Team RWBY

Ruby wants to jump up and down in joy as Headmaster Ozpin announces that she is the leader of the newly formed team RWBY. But her joy is short lived as she looks over and sees Weiss looking downward at the floor, tears in her eyes. Scooting over to her partner, she nudges her gently. "Are you ok, Weiss?"

"No, no I am not Ruby." She can see her hesitate, as if she can't come to a decision.

"Want to go and talk about it?" Ruby is surprised when she feels Weiss's hand slip into hers, as the white wolf faunus simply nods. The two of them slip off once Ozpin is done with the last of his speeches, and simply walk for a bit, stopping in front of the fountain. Before Ruby can say a word, Weiss simply starts to talk, her words a jumble.

"I am frightened Ruby. My father will be extremely angry with me because I was not made the leader of our team."

"You were still amazing out there today Weiss! I mean, I was about to get skewered and then you were all like woosh! Weiss to the rescue!" Ruby raves with a wide smile on her face.

Weiss finally giggles as she looks at the Reaper. "Thank you Ruby. I needed a good laugh."

"What are partners for Snowflake?" Ruby's smile gets wider as the other girl blushes. But all the good humor in the air vanishes quickly as the white haired faunus girl's scroll begins to ring.

Ruby begins to growl in rage as the tears begin to flow down her partner's face as she continues her litany of 'Yes Fathers' 'No Fathers' and the one that angers her the most is the 'I'm sorry Father, please forgive me'. That one pisses her off royally. But before she can snatch the phone away, Weiss finally hangs up just before bursting into tears. Ruby doesn't hesitate for a moment, but pulls the crying young woman into her arms and comforts her as she sobs into her chest.

Ruby doesn't know why, but she wants to protect her partner from the pain she is obviously in.


	5. The Princess and the Boarbatusk

**Hey everyone, Winter here with an exciting new chapter! Before anyone asks, this is a three part segment, so expect part two next week! Otherwise thanks for reading!**

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Weiss pants as her gaze flickers between the Boarbatusk and Myrtenaster. She had allowed her father's words from the night before to influence her far more than she thought they would, and now she finds herself staring at the business end of a furious Grimm.

"Weiss! Aim for the stomach! The stomach!" She suddenly hears Ruby cry out. But how can she? She is disarmed, the damned pig was between her and her weapon, and…

She's scared. She is so scared she can feel feel tail tucked between her legs even as she struggles to at least keep her ears up. To pretend she isn't as terrified as she feels right now. She almost screams in terror as the Boarbatusk charges her once more, and throws herself to the side. Hearing the Grimm smash into the wall, she darts forward and grabs the hilt of her weapon, spinning around just in time for the damned thing to free itself from the wall.

"You can do it Weiss! I believe in you!" Ruby calls out. She smiles a bit as she hears those words, and she can feel her tail finally start rising up once more. She can do this! She won't let her partner down! She won't be a burden to her!

Spinning her dust chamber to black, she forms a gravity glyph on the floor just as the beast roars and charges again. But this time she is ready. She can hear Ruby still cheering her on as she leaps back and smiles as the Grimm gets launched into the air. Forming another gravity glyph under her feet, she launches herself at the unarmored belly of the beast and almost howls in triumph as she connects solidly with Myrtenaster, defeating the Boarbatusk.

Landing lightly on her feet, she gives a bit of a flourish to her curtsy as she turns to face the crowd, only then realizing the uproar in the classroom. That is when she heard it clearly.

"Hey! I just said not bad for a beast! What's so wrong about that?" She knows the voice, everyone has already learned the voice of that pompous ass Cardin Winchester. But to her it sounded just like her Father's voice after she defeated his Armored Giant and earned her freedom. It is too much! She escaped to Beacon to get away from people like him! Not to still be tormented by them too!

Spinning on her heels, she runs out of the classroom crying, ignoring Ruby's cries asking her to stop. She just wants to get away from there. She wants to be anywhere but near that same voice that has tormented and tortured her for the past ten years. Ever since her mother died a Huntress's death….


	6. The Red Reaper and the Headmaster

Ruby growls in rage as Yang, Nora and Yatsuhashi all struggle to hold the younger girl back, while Pyrrha uses her semblance to remove Crescent Rose and all of her ammunition from her back and various pouches. "Let me go! I'll show him with a beast can do!"

"No way sis! Calm down!" Yang answers as calmly as possible as she keeps struggling with the enraged wolf faunus.

"Miss Rose, that is enough! Mr. Winchester, you shall see me after class!" Professor Port bellows out, instantly calming down the assembled students. Ruby settles back into her seat with a grumble, even as all the faunus students including her continue to glare at the prick. The rest of the class passes fairly uneventfully until the very end, when Professor Ozpin himself enters.

"Miss Rose, a word?" He asks as he beckons back into the hall. With a sigh, she stands up and walks to the headmaster of Beacon, her tail tucked firmly between her legs as her ears flop down on her head. She growls a bit when she hears the guffaw coming from Cardin, but quickly calms herself before Professor Ozpin himself says anything to her. Suddenly, her blood runs cold as she imagines being sent back to Signal. No! She wouldn't be Weiss's partner anymore! Weiss needs her! She begins to whimper as she looks around the hallways, trying to catch Weiss's scent. But all she can smell is Ozpin's coffee. Before she can escape, she feels his hand on her shoulder, and looks up to his smiling face.

"Relax Miss Rose. I am not here to chastise you for wishing harm upon Mr. Winchester. I am curious as to what happened, and I wish to hear it in your own words since it was your partner that ran off."

Ruby takes a breath and begins to explain everything that happened, from Weiss accepting Port's challenge, to Cardin making the comment of not bad for a beast. Taking another deep breath, she looks up at the Professor. "Maybe I'm not cut out to be a leader."

"Miss Rose, I beg to differ. You have proven time and again already your dedication to your team, as well as to your partner. Both qualities that make a good leader. I plan on enjoying watching you grow and mature into a role that your mother also excelled in once." Ozpin replies as he sips at his mug.

"Then why did I let Weiss run off while I was ready to rip Cardin to shreds?" Ruby protests as she looks at him. "Why didn't I follow her instead?"

Ozpin looks at her and smiles. "For the same reason you consoled your partner the other night after I announced the teams. You sought to protect her from a threat, as is your nature. Just give her some time to herself to sort out her feelings, Ruby. She needs to discover for herself the strength that once made her mother one of the greatest huntresses on Remnant, just as the daughter of Summer Rose needs to as well."

Ruby can't help but stare as Ozpin walks off. Hardly anyone will speak to her about her mother, and to find out that Weiss's mother is held in just as high regard is a surprise to her. Perhaps it's time to learn more about the petite heiress that is beginning to occupy more and more of her thoughts.


	7. The Princess and the Elder Huntsman

Weiss sighs as she watches the sunset. She can't believe that here at Beacon of all the Huntsmen schools, there would be people like her father. Just like she cannot believe that she had been so terrified of that Boarbatusk. What would her mother had done? Before she can think of it any further, a voice suddenly breaks the silence.

"Ah, such a lovely sunset indeed! Why, it reminds me of a story from my youth!" Professor Port declares as he comes to stand next to the bench where she is sitting.

Weiss groans as she looks up the professor, who is looking down at her kindly. "I've had a bit of a hard day Professor."

"I can understand that Miss Schnee. Your mother also had a rough first day when she came to Beacon as well." This gets her attention. Her mother rarely spoke of her days training to be a huntress, normally only stating that it was four of the best years of her life.

Curious, Weiss takes the bait. "Go on Professor, I'm listening."

To her surprise, the Professor looks to the horizon thoughtfully. "I remember when she arrived here, almost thirty years ago now. I had been an active huntsman for several years by then, when I was asked to fill in for old Professor Magenta, who had fallen ill. Just a little slip of a thing, like you."

This gives Weiss a bit of pause. "Father told me mama attended Atlas Academy, not Beacon."

Port roars with laughter as he looks at Weiss. "Your mother proudly studied here for four years, and made many friends. Most especially with Summer Rose and Raven Branwen. The three of them were as thick as thieves for years." Port smiles as he looks back at the darkening sky. "Especially Summer and Adaliz. They were quite close."

Weiss looks into the darkening sky as well, amazed at this new revelation. But one thing was bothering her. "Then why say she went to Atlas?"

Port sighs as he looks back down at her. "That is something I honestly do not know Weiss. What I do know is when I look at you, I see your mother staring back at me. And that is a wonderful thing. But a word of advice: Do not get lost in her shadow as you seek to cast one of your own." With a pat on the shoulder, the older professor walks off, leaving Weiss to her own thoughts.

Weiss sighs as she leans her head back and looks up at the stars. Why would her father lie to her? And why does everyone hold her mother on the same level as Summer Rose? These are questions she needs to figure out. But for now, she needs to go check on Ruby. Standing up, she walks towards the door, all other thoughts gone from her mind save those of her adorable partner.


	8. A Late Night Cup of Coffee

Weiss smiles as she looks at the sleeping figure of her reddish black wolf faunus partner as she drools on a blank piece of paper, her various books opened around her. Although if the brute and her partner wake up, she will never hear the end of it, since she is having to use a glyph to stand on in order to check on Ruby.

"Ruby…" She whispers lightly as she reaches over and shakes her gently. "Ruby, wake up."

"Huh? I'm not asleep! I swear the cookies are mine!" Ruby cries out, causing a giggle to escape her lips. Pressing a finger gently to her lips, she smiles shyly as she feels her tail wagging happily.

"Calm down, Ruby. I just wanted to bring you some coffee and see if you needed any help. How do you take your coffee?"

Ruby's grin has the normal effect of making her weak in the knees as, to her shock, the younger girl kisses the tip of her finger before moving it away. "A cream and five sugars Snowflake, and I could use the help. I don't understand half of this!"

"Then move down to my bed, and we shall work on it together Ruby." Weiss's tail wags even faster as she hops down from her glyph and moves to the door. Stopping once more, she watches as Ruby gathers her things together and starts to moving them to the side of her bed.

Weiss can't help but feel happy that someone in her life actually needs her for something other than ridicule or as a verbal punching bag. Just like she can't help but just feel happy around Ruby. Like her life is complete.


	9. She Has Really Big Fangs!

Everyone is talking excitedly about the upcoming Vytal Festival of course. Everyone except Weiss and Ruby. They were huddled together with their notebooks and their textbook open for Professor Peach and taking copious amounts of notes. Weiss is the more focused of the two, as Peach's class was her worse subject, being basic field survival tactics, while Ruby is already at the top of the class.

But they both look up at the squeal of pain, and growl in unison as they see Cardin Winchester holding a rabbit faunus named Velvet Scarlatina by one of her ears.

"Last chance Winchester! Let go of my ear!" The smaller faunus girl growls out, causing a loud guffaw from the taller boy.

"Or what? You're gonna nuzzle me to death?"

Her scream of rage is barely drowned out by the sound of her full lunch tray connecting solidly with his face. Ruby and Weiss look on in shock and growing admiration as Velvet demolishes team CDNL in short order, and to their delight, has the bully held by his own ears and is slamming his face into a table with them when Professors Goodwitch and Oobleck suddenly show up and break them apart.

Ruby and Weiss both join the scattered cheers as Velvet is escorted out of the cafeteria via Professor Goodwitch's semblance as their tails wag in delight. They both agree later on that Velvet Scarlatina is their new hero.


	10. Early Morning Truths

Ruby sighs as she gets up in the early predawn hours. Today is her first leadership class with Professor Scarlatina-Garibaldi, and even though the senior Huntress was gone on a high priority hunt with her aura mates, she still has to attend. Shivering a bit at how cold the dorm room is, she dresses quickly as she spares more than a few glances at her sleeping partner.

The normal lines of worry and strain are gone from her face, and she actually looks a bit like a black and white burrito as she sleeps on while wrapped tightly in the surprisingly thick blanket.

"You like her don't you?" She hears the mumbled question from Yang. She smiles as she turns to look at the taller woman and reaches up to squeeze her hand. She can hear the soft chuckle coming from the blonde even as she growls softly.

"Don't get ill with me Rubes. You've been treating her way different than how you treated that one girl back in Signal." Yang points out. She's right of course, her last girlfriend had developed a pretty big problem with her after her last big heat. It hadn't been exactly what she had been expecting, and their breakup had been rather public, loud, and beyond embarrassing. Nothing she ever wanted to repeat ever again. But her train of thought is interrupted by the older girl once more. "She's damaged goods, Rubes. Even Goodwitch's noticed."

Ruby smiles up at Yang. "So was I when Uncle Tai and Auntie Raven took me in. And look how I turned out in the end." She whispers softly as she looks at Weiss again. "Besides, there's something about her that I can't help but…." Her voice trails off.

Yang chuckles again as she squeezes Ruby's hand. "Hey, far be it for me to judge. And if you think she's worth it, then you know I'm going to support you all the way."

The Reaper can't help but squeeze her sister's hand. More than once, she has always been grateful that she and her younger siblings had been taken in by their wonderful and caring family. Raven Branwen-Xiao Long never hesitated when she arrived in Mistral to take custody of six year old Ruby, and the three year old twins Jay and Robin. She quickly bullied the social worker into handing over all the legal documents needed as Taiyang and eight year old Yang had gone to the Branwen-Rose household to pack it up to ship back to Patch. Even now, they treat the three of them as their own children, with Yang being their obnoxious older sister.

But just as she will never give up Weiss as her partner, she will never give up the Rose last name. She is proud of her parent's legacy and sacrifice….


	11. Breakfast With the White Princess

Weiss smiles as she flips her omelette expertly in the pan she is cooking it in. Her entire team would no doubt be shocked at the fact that she can cook for herself, but whatever. Another side effect of being the daughter of Jacques Schnee. She learned at an early age to fend for herself with a lot of things, cooking being one of them.

"Something smells good in here!" She hears the voice of the obnoxious brute and sighs. She forgot that the blonde doesn't have any classes this morning either, as the forging teacher and his aura mates were still out on a high level emergency hunt. Deciding that it isn't worth answering her, she simply turns the music up on her scroll and starts singing along with Seether's Careless Whisper.

"Hey! I love this song!" Yang declares as she begins to sing along in a surprisingly pleasant contralto. Weiss's ears flicker in surprise, even as she starts cooking up a few pieces of bacon she had managed to scrape together from the tray in the fridge. She really needs to put a grocery list together soon, and bug her team and JNPR to pitch in.

"My sister really likes you, you know." There is no way in hell that Yang didn't hear the trainwreck that just happened in her head. And it was a big one too, the kind that would be on the news in all four kingdoms for sure. "Like really likes you." She adds.

Weiss waits long enough to fish her bacon out of the pan before turning slowly towards the brutish blonde. "I'm not anyone to like, Yang. I come with too much baggage. Too many technicalities." Being named Heiress was nothing more than a ploy for her father. A way to keep the faunus calmed enough to hopefully keep the White Fang from their continued attacks. His real heir was already chosen, the ink on the contracts still so fresh that they could smear.

Yang shrugs as steals a piece of the bacon and munches on it. "So? Doesn't matter to my hard headed cookie snarfing sister. Rubes is about to be sixteen, she's old enough for her heart to guide her now." Wow. That is so odd to hear from the brute who's already chased several boys and even a few girls away from the petite scythe wielder. Weiss has been seriously debating asking her to deal with Jaune for her, as the blockhead won't take the hint that she just wants to be left alone.

"I'm not worthy of being loved." She mutters as she grabs her plate and her cup of coffee before moving to the counter to sit down. Which is true. Especially if people knew all the truths of her life as a Schnee. Even her Uncle and Aunt are still in the dark, and her Uncle would would rip Jacques apart limb by limb if he knew what really happens behind closed doors. Even Winter, who is far braver and stronger than her is terrified of Jacques Schnee, and she would never breathe a word to anyone.

None of the remaining Schnee siblings wanted to end up like their mother Adaliz or even worse, Willow.

"Bah, everyone deserves to be loved Weissy. Even an Ice Queen like you." Yang chuckles as she steals a second piece of bacon. Enough. She can't handle anything more today, especially from the brute. Sliding her plate to her, she calmly walks out the door as Yang digs into the food. She needs her quiet space, especially since they all have Oobleck this afternoon. Sipping her coffee, she ignores the fact that she is still in her nightgown as she makes her way to the roof of the dorm. Sitting in a corner, she keeps sipping her coffee as she watches the clouds float by, her tears falling unchecked down her cheeks….


	12. Leadership Class 101

Ruby smiles as she steals a peak at the leader of team MADM before going back to her sketch pad. As she has come to learn in a short time, Melody Garibaldi is a really sweet girl with an unhealthy fascination for tattoos, but that just makes her more fun to sketch during the most boring class in history! So far, the entire Leadership Class has consisted of Professor Ozpin simply handing them their syllabus for the class before telling them to read over them carefully and going back to his own paperwork.

And of course Cardin Winchester is playing with fire right now, as he has chosen Melody as his new target for the day. Both his eyes are still swollen, and his ears look like he's an elf, but nothing can cure what is obviously his suicidal tendencies. Especially since she's a second year exchange student from Haven Academy, and not an actual Beacon student. She is doing her best to ignore him, even as she taps frantically on her scroll. But when he grabs her wolf ears and twist them almost savagely causing her to scream in pain, even Ruby stands and prepares to jump over her desk to get to the racist prick.

But none of them expect the other Haven exchange student, Kore Eclectus, to suddenly grab Cardin by the back of the head and smash his face into a desk with a green hand that looks like a Beringel's. Everyone, including Melody, winces as Cardin's head goes through the desk and collides with the floor, where he lays in a small puddle of blood.

"Oops." Kore shrugs as he goes back to his scroll.

"Seriously Kore?! You could have killed him!" Melody yells back at him.

"He had his aura to protect him from the worst of it." Kore says dismissively. "Besides, Gracie's pissed. Her team wasn't chosen for Vytal, and I'm trying to calm her down."

Ruby finally sits back down and returns to sketching in her pad. She ignores the medics who finally arrive to scrape a groaning Cardin off the floor, but she smiles as she hears a scream of rage out in the hallway, follow by a whack.

"Leave my best friend alone, you piece of shit!"

"Oh good, Nix got him." Melody declares with a grin.

"I still say you two are dating." Kore tells her with a small smile on his lips.

"No we aren't!" Melody shrieks at him. Ruby just starts giggling as she hears several more whacks and Cardin scream. Today was getting better and better by the second, all she has to do is survive Oobleck's class next….

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX** Hey everyone, Win here with a quick note. Melody Garibaldi is my own OC, and Kore Eclectus belongs to Akiruo.


	13. Dr Oobleck's Class

Weiss smiles as she chats with Ruby, who met her at the front of the building housing Doctor Oobleck's class and walked in with her. And thankfully, Ruby was sitting between her and the blonde brute who somehow understands her heart better than she herself does. Which is distressing, but not something she can afford to worry about for now. Right now, she has to bring her grade up in Oobleck's class, so she cannot afford any more distractions.

Distractions like a pair of quicksilver eyes that can see into her soul. So long as they can't see the ugliness and hideousness hidden there, she can afford to bask occasionally.

But her poolgazing comes to an end as Oobleck zooms into the classroom in his usual over caffeinated state, getting more than one groan from the students as he plunges into today's lesson about the Faunus War. She works diligently of course, as expected of a proper Schnee as her father expects her to be of course. But why?

Her ears twitch as Oobleck catches her attention. "Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War." Weiss watches dispassionately as he zooms behind his desk and uses a pointer on his map of the world, not flinching as it makes an audible smack on the laminated paper loud enough to make Ruby and the other faunus present flinch.

But all Weiss can hear is her father's voice in another one of his rages. _**A Schnee does not flinch! A Schnee never allows themselves to show surprise!**_

"Humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing the Faunus population in Menagerie." He continues as he drags the pointer downward on the laminate, causing all the faunus to whimper and squirm in their seats, as well as finally waking Diane Brunneis from team MADM up from a rather impressive nap. The tall Squirrel faunus girl grumbles as her partner and teammate Aqua Burrell shushes her quickly. She absentmindedly listens to Oobleck apologize to all of them even as he also gives the brutal tank a detention for sleeping in his class. But Weiss's thoughts aren't even there anymore. They are far away in her Father's study back in Atlas.

 _ **Animals like you and your siblings need to learn your places! I shall not tolerate your insolence like I tolerated Willow's for so long!**_ Jacques Schnee's voice continues to haunt her despite her best efforts to focus. _**She may have been a brilliant summoner and a better fighter than you, but in the end, I dealt with your twin like the mongrel that she was! And she learned her place after the beating she took!**_

"Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!" Weiss barely follows him as he zooms around the class, waking sleeping students up with pokes and prods between sips from his prodigious cup of coffee. She barely makes out Jaune's muffled curses, or Dove Bronzewing's indignant cry when his feet are shoved to the floor. All she can think of the second worse day of her life. The day her twin sister Willow ran away.

" _Willow! Please! You can't leave me here alone with him!"_ Weiss yells at her twin, who is making her way slowly out of the manor. But she gasps as she sees the black ribbon tied around her eyes.

" _I can't Weiss. I can't do this anymore!"_ Willow cries out to her. " _He blinded me Weiss! All because he could no longer stand to see the truth within my eyes! The truth that he is a pretender to the throne! A fraud! And I cannot pay too many more prices!"_ Weiss sobs as she reaches for a sister that seems to be moving steadily farther and farther away from her. But her final words still ring in her wolf's ears as if they were freshly spoken.

" _I am always but a thought away sister. We are still two sides of the same coin. And that is something that man cannot ever take from us."_

"Now!" Oobleck declares as he finishes his sweep of the classroom. "Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"

 _Have I been discriminated against?_

Diane and Aqua both raise their hands in the back….

 _Have I been subjugated?_

First Velvet, then Ruby slowly raise their hands as the brute growls softly and mutters angrily about narrow minded idiots.

Dr. Oobleck sighs. "Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence!" He comments as he takes yet another sip of his coffee.

 _Violence? Does abuse count as violence? Do all these things mean…._

The silence in the classroom is so complete, so total as everyone stares at Weiss Schnee, the Heiress of the world's most powerful corporation and arguably the richest person to ever step foot in Beacon, as she slowly raises her hand.

"My twin sister and I have suffered greatly because we are faunus…."


	14. Sitting on a Rooftop

**Hey everyone, Win here with a trigger warning for mentions of past self harm! You have been warned...**

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Ruby ears flicker as Weiss keeps leading her up the stairs. She's been quiet, really quiet since Oobleck's class, and Ruby has been worried. Especially since her tail has stayed firmly tucked between her legs since they left the classroom, even as the other students started gossiping the moment class was dismissed.

" _Weiss Schnee has suffered? Bullshit!"_ She heard Blake mumble that clear as day as she scooted her chair even farther away from the petite heiress. " _What does she know about suffering?'_

She knows there's something a bit off about Blake, but she can't put her finger on it. But still, Weiss is so quiet and withdrawn when the cat faunus in hiding is nearby. And besides, who is she to question what someone else says something? Ruby is starting get suspicious of her, but now isn't the time. Especially since they have finally reached the roof. She smiles and takes a deep breath, always happy to be outside in the fresh air.

"Ruby, what do you know about the SDC, or even the Schnees?" Weiss suddenly asks her as she slips out of her uniform jacket and lays it on the edge of the roof before sitting down in a corner as if it was a normal thing for her to sit there. Looking closer, Ruby can make out a small nook between two bricks, as if someone pried one out to hide a box.

Taking a deep breath, Ruby comes to stand next to Weiss, ignoring her as she opens the box. "Not much really. I know he's rich, and well connected. But he hates the faunus, dunno why." She answers honestly. "My birth parents and a family friend of theirs used to take a lot of work from them when the last CEO was in power, I remember that too."

Blood. She can smell it now. It smells old, but not that old. She can feel her ears raising up slowly as she does her best to ignore what Weiss is doing. She knows what she is doing, she has her own scars that she hides really well. Yang forced her to stop a few years ago, but she still does it from time to time to calm down, to silence the doubts she has constantly.

"Trust me, that isn't that far from the truth." Weiss replies. "I learned to fend for myself at an early age. I can cook, because he wouldn't allow the cooks to make anything for us animals, we would never appreciate their hard work. I learned to sew because he didn't see the need in wasting money on clothes animals would ruin." She stops and sighs. "It only got worse as we got older."

Ruby nods as she finally turns to look at Weiss. The knife is old and poorly maintained, and no doubt the reason why Weiss got so sick the day after initiation. Sighing, she slides down to sit next to her, both of them staring at the still sharp blade.

"I'm heiress in name only Ruby." She finally admits. "My father expects me to marry his chosen heir once I graduate from Beacon as a Huntress. It will satisfy the conditions set by my Grandfather. He was a proud Alpha who built the company with his own two hands."

"I'm an orphan." Ruby tells her. "My parents died during a high priority hunt in Atlas. My Uncle and Aunt took me and my siblings in afterwords. Yang's been our big sister ever since." Reaching out, she takes the knife gently from the white wolf, who whimpers softly. "No more scars Snowflake. We both have more than enough, even on our souls."

Standing back up, Ruby rears back and throws the knife out as far as she can, watching in satisfaction as it flies deeply into the woods before sitting back down. Her mouth moves into a gentle smile as she reaches out and takes her now empty hand in her own. "I promise I'm always here for you Weiss, no matter what life may send our way."

To Ruby's surprise, Weiss shifts slightly so she can lay her head on her shoulder as she takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. "And I promise I will be the best partner and friend you could ever hope for Ruby. Even if I am a failure of a faunus."

Ruby snorts as she squeezes the white princess's hand. "You're getting better, slowly. Now." Ruby flicks one of her wolf's ears with one of her own. "Who's your supposive fiance?" But to her surprise, instead of an answer, all she gets is a gentle snore instead. Smiling, Ruby Rose decides this corner is a perfect spot to take a nap in, and soon the red and white duo are fast asleep.

Side by side, hands still clasped together tightly...


	15. A New Challenger

"Remember students! Stay close! The Emerald Forest is full of Grimm, some of which are quite old and very dangerous!" Professor Peach calls out to the assembled students. But Jaune Arc just snorts as he moves off from the group, Cardin and his team trailing behind him.

"Hey Jauney Boy! How about going and gathering up all our sap for us?" Cardin calls out with a laugh. "After all, we're buddies, aren't we?"

 _Not even close_. He thinks to himself as he keeps walking. Not for the first time, he wishes he had just been honest from the get go. But his parents insisted on him laying low and keeping a low profile, but that's never been his style. After all, he is the Heir to Arc Industries, and richer than Cardin and all the other students at Beacon combined. All except one.

"Hey! I'm talking to you Arc!" Cardin yells as he grabs at Jaune's shoulder. "Don't ignore your betters!"

Jaune stops in his tracks, a smirk starting to form on his face. "That's funny coming someone who keeps getting his ass kicked on a regular basis." He can feel the hand tightening on his shoulder and takes a firmer grip on the handle of Crocea Mors. _Wait for it…_

His moment comes mere seconds later when Cardin spins him around, one fist already cocked back to throw a punch. Instead, he caught the blunt end of Jaune's sheathed sword across the side of his face strongly enough to send him flying.

Pushing a hidden button, he snaps the shield into place and forms a broadsword out the combined weapon. "Now, let's discuss a few things, Winchester." His smirk is in full effect now as he walks forward. "After your little cronies gather my sap of course."

Jaune Arc is tired of being everyone's joke. As Heir to his family's company, as well as heir apparent to another, this is his time now. Something that Weiss Schnee needs to accept whether she likes it or not...


	16. The Reaper, The Princess, and Renora

"Nora, should you really be drinking that?" Weiss asks the over exuberant ginger. She can't help but wince as she downs the last of her jar of sap with a satisfied sigh.

"Tastes great Weiss! You should try some!" Nora tells the white wolf as they sit together at the edge of the clearing in the Forever Fall Forest. Her own partner, a quiet young man named Lie Ren, stands nearby silently, using a tap to fill his own jar of the strange pink sap. But, Ruby and Weiss haven't missed the looks that pass between the two.

They aren't the looks of close friends. They're the looks of two people in love.

"So, how long have you and Ren been together Nora?" Ruby finally asks, causing Weiss to smack the red wolf gently on the arm.

"Ruby, that's rude!" Weiss chastises the red wolf gently, even as she blushes. "I'm sorry for that. Ruby can be a bit uncouth."

Ren holds up a hand. "Please, there is no need to apologize. Nora and I have been traveling together and watching out for each other since we were children."

Nora nods as she looks at Ren, a fond smile on her lips and a look that speaks volumes in her eyes. "We've been together together for a couple of years now. And without a single regret." Weiss and Ruby smile at the admission from the young couple, even as Nora steals Ruby's sap and begins to drink it.

"So how long have you two been together?" Ren asks as he slowly refills Nora's empty container.

Weiss blinks as she blushes. "Oh we aren't together. We are just friends and partners."

Ruby nods. "Best friends and the greatest partners ever!" She declares as she holds up Weiss's hand, their fingers laced together even now.

Ren nods as he smiles. "Forgive my assumption, Ruby and Weiss. I was simply curious is all. Other than when gathering your sap, the two of you have held hands constantly and had eyes only for each other."

Before either the Reaper or the Princess can say another word, Nora grins as she sets the empty container on the ground next to Ren as she wipes her mouth with the sleeve of her jacket. "I told Rennie the other night I bet you two are mates!"

Ruby and Weiss both begin to sputter and blush as they offer several arguments about how they are just partners and friends when a jet black airship with three swords set on a field of red, brown, and gold stripes painted on the belly passes overhead slowly.

"Who's airship is that?!" Ruby asks as she watches the heavily armed customized airship pass by with wide eyes.

"The Garibaldis." Weiss replies to all their surprise. "They're finally back!" She cries out in delight.

Ren, Nora and Ruby all look at Weiss, who blushes a bit at her outburst. "How do you know three of the most legendary Hunters in modern history?" Ren finally asks.

Weiss's genuine smile quickly outshines her blush. "Alexander is my uncle! He's my mama's step brother!" Weiss doesn't notice the looks of shock and surprise on their faces as she leaps to her feet and waves excitedly at the airship, her tail wagging as quickly as her moving arm. She even starts laughing brightly as she gets an answer from the airship in the form of a quick waggle of its wings.

The Mountain, the Burning Queen, and the Warrior Rabbit are living legends, and Weiss is related to them? Ruby can't help but wonder why they never intervened on Weiss's behalf all those years….


	17. The Cat and The Assassin

Blake Belladonna sighs as she focuses on the book in front of her. Ever since Oobleck's class, Weiss has been quiet. Well more quiet than usual. Even Ruby, her partner's obnoxious and hyperactive little sister has been strangely quiet, and she is not going to complain a single bit there. How Ozpin ever thought she would make a good leader is beyond her. She's seen excellent leadership within the White Fang, as well as pitiful, and frankly Ruby does have some potential. But not enough to justify making her a leader now.

Besides, she has her own problems. Specifically one really big problem. Siena Khan has sent the Black Snow after her and Adam both. And that isn't good. No one can escape the Assassin once she's been set on their trail, no one. And if the rumors are true, she's also joined forces with Roman's twisted little midget. And what the Black Snow lacks in empathy, Neopolitan makes up for in sheer insanity.

Senpuku is beginning to look like a very real option. Better than being a guest in Khan's dungeons in Mistral. And maybe, just maybe Siena Khan will forgive her her betrayal. Maybe. Better than being a living practice dummy for a pair of psychopaths and their employer.

But for now, she can relax just a little bit. She's in the middle of the Forever Fall forest, surrounded by all her fellow students, as well as Professors Goodwitch and Peach, the latter who is currently lecturing them on all the various uses of the sap they have been gathering for the last half hour or so. Even the legendary Garibaldis are due to return soon, having finally completed their emergency hunt deep within the wilds of Mistral. Neither of the assassins would dare attack her now.

"You look rather comfortable kitten." It takes everything she has inside of her not to jump through the tree she is leaning against. The Black Snow found her already?! Oh sweet merciful goddesses! Why her?! All she wants to do is go home to her parents and Ilia! She was tired of Adam's brutal and underhanded methods! She's tired of being used for a cause she still believes in, but can't support the methods being used anymore.

"You should calm down kitten. You may have a heart attack." Glancing around, she can see the razor sharp tip of her sword sheath, along with the grey trimmed hem of her midnight black dress. She can even see the bottoms of her heels, no doubt reinforced with dust and rare metals to make them more efficient for combat. Too close, she's firmly within her zone and she wouldn't have time to even reach for Gambol Shroud before she would be dead. Patience, the assassin isn't a fool. She wouldn't escape from a group this large unscathed.

"What do you want?" Did she just croak that out? Dust, but she's really making herself look good now! The witch is no doubt laughing at her as she herself is ready to piss everywhere in fear. Wait, is she giggling?! Doomed! She is so doomed! Hopefully they find her last will and testament hidden in the first volume of Ninjas of Love!

"Calm down kitten. I'm not here for you. Yet." Breathe! Remember to breathe Belladonna! "You may yet prove to be useful to me." Fuck! Shit! Damn it all! Why?!

"Where is Adam Taurus?" Think! Think fast! The docks!

"He maintains a hideout in the dock area of Vale. It's an old warehouse that's right on the water." She answers quickly. If the Black Snow considers her useful, then by the Goddesses she is going to be useful! She just wants to go home! But her eyes widen in shock as a can of tuna drops next to her, a scroll number written on the top.

"I'll be in touch. And for the love of the Dusk Goddess, don't send me text messages!" She grumbles. "Everyone knows I can't see the damned things, yet they insist on sending them to me!"

Blake trembles in fear as she sits with her back to the tree, the can of tuna held tightly in her hand. She knows the Black Snow all too well, having been the one to encounter her at her favorite cafe in Mistral City. But now, knowing what she is more than capable of? Blake Belladonna really wishes she had never even caught her scent of blueberries, coffee and steel that fateful winter's day...


	18. Homecoming

The jet black airship flies slowly over Beacon, the pilot smiling as people wave from the grounds and on the tops of the various buildings. Banking slowly, she approaches an airship dock separate from the school's docks. Bringing the heavily modified airship down gently onto the pad, she smiles as she looks at the auburn hair girl beside her.

"Excited to be home, kitten?" The pilot asks. She is older than the co-pilot. Her burning red hair matches the red panels of her white and red combat dress, while her brilliant amber eyes have a fondness to them as she looks at her oldest child. The cat faunus's tail begins to wave in delight as her daughter returns her smile with one of her own.

"Indeed mother. A delightfully droll ending to our return home considering the urgency of our departure." The auburn haired younger woman replies with a fond smile on her face. "Wouldn't you agree sister?" She asks as she looks to the younger woman sitting at the navigation console.

"Yes, although you guys didn't have to snatch me and my partner out of Haven like you did." The charcoal black haired woman replies, her amber colored eyes seeming to smolder with an intense heat all their own.

Standing, the older woman looks at her two oldest daughters fondly. "Come along, Siena, Cinder. It's been a long four months. And no doubt, your father is ready to get off of this flying tin can as he calls it." She adds the last part with a smile.

The sisters look at each other and grin at the mention of their overly dramatic huntsman father. "Coming Mama!" Siena and Cinder Brandstelle-Garibaldi reply in unison as they stand from their own seats and follow arm in arm.

The two of them couldn't more different in looks and style. Siena was the taller of the two at six feet, her shoulder length hair brushing the shoulders of her deep brown combat duster. She wore a simple blouse of some green material, while her forest brown pants were tucked into matching hiking boots. Her cat's ears were currently free of the normal military style beret she tends to favor, while her tail was carefully wrapped around her slender waist.

Cinder herself couldn't be more different. Barely five feet tall like her mother, her charcoal black hair was carefully styled to sit on her shoulder, an accent to her rune covered dress the color of deep fire. The only other real adornment was the anklet she wore on her right leg, a sweet sixteen present from all three of her parents. Unlike her older sister though, she flaunted her wolf's ears and tail, which was poking out from a hole in her dress right below the cartridges she uses to hold the dust she manipulates as a dust mage.

But no one could mistake the fact that they are sisters, and the oldest daughters of the Burning Queen. Well, no one who enjoyed living anyway….

At seven feet tall, and three hundred and twenty pounds of muscle, sarcasm, and beer, Alexander Garibaldi is an imposing sight. Or he would be if he wasn't currently laying on the ground groaning. Beside him, a tall rabbit faunus with chocolate brown hair and eyes lays on her back, staring into the sky.

"Have ah ever mentioned I hate that damned airship?" The Mountain comments idly, getting a groan from the other woman.

"Yeah, once or twice." She groans as her rabbit ears wiggle in the grass. "Ah swear Kate did tha barrel roll on purpose."

Alex just nods as he chuckles. "Could be worse, Carol. And hey, we brought Cinny and her partner back."

Carol Scarlatina-Garibaldi just smiles. "An Mel an Lissa are here too. Finally got tha family back together."

"Yep." The giant pops the P. "Velvet's almost here, so's Weiss. And hello!" He suddenly grins. "Willow's around here too!"

Carol snorts. "She done got here quick. We just left her at the Mistral airship docks couple ah days ago."

The Mountain just sighs as he hears his other auramate and his daughters exit the airship, along with the green haired red eyed girl that is Cinder's partner and best friend. "If she's here, that means trouble. Sienna Khan doesn't let her leave for no good reason." Which is a huge concern for him. His niece is unstable on a good day, and the Khan isn't a good influence on her. At all. But if she's here, perhaps now is a good time for an intervention.

After all, it's never too late to save a person's soul...


	19. The Mountain's Daughter

Headmaster Ozpin sighs as he looks at the two young women sitting in front of him. "Cinder, Emerald, why did you allow Professor Garibaldi to virtually kidnap the two of you and bring you here?" He asks as he sits forward in his chair, his fingers lacing together easily.

Emerald Sustrai shrugs as she looks around at the office. "Not sure really. He showed up and just said to pack our bags."

Cinder nods in agreement. "You have met my father right? Seven feet tall, built like a mountain, kinda hard to argue with because he thinks he's right all the time?" She counters. "He said to pack, we packed. We got on the airship, and here we are."

Ozpin sighs. "Miss Sustrai, Miss Garibaldi, Headmaster Lionheart is raising hell over the fact that one of my instructors barged into his academy, called him an idiot, and pulled his best students out and brought them to Beacon." He explains calmly. "I simply wish to be sure that neither of you had anything to do with this."

Emerald and Cinder look at each other and simply grin before turning to look at Ozpin.

"If the shoe fits…" Emerald begins.

"He should wear it." Cinder finishes with a giggle, while Ozpin simply snorts.

"One last thing, are you certain you wish to use a false surname, Miss Garibaldi? It will be no secret as to who your parents are."

Cinder nods as a serious look comes across her face. "My younger sisters use our family name proudly. Hell, they're almost as big of daddy's girls as Velvet and I are. But I want to stand on my own feet, Headmaster. I want to make my own name apart from theirs. And to do that, I have to be willing to make my own way in the world without depending on my parents and their fame."

Ozpin nods as a look of respect comes across his features. "Well then, Miss Sustrai, Miss Fall, welcome to Beacon Academy. I hope that the two of you distinguish yourselves during your final year."

"Thank you sir." Both young women respond in unison as they climb to their feet and bow slightly before leaving the office. But once the door closes, they both breath a deep sigh of relief.

"Your dad is playing with fire, Cinny." Emerald comments as they walk towards the elevators.

Cinder nods as she looks at her scroll. "Daddy's worried about something is all. Worried enough to pull strings and piss people off to bring us all here." She replies absentmindedly as she checks her messages. "And your my partner and best friend, so your in his circle of trust."

Emerald nods as she pushes the summon button for the elevator. "Why? I'm just a former con artist and wanna be huntress."

Cinder looks at her partner and smiles. "Because you cleaned up your act. Your marks are as strong as mine, and Melly and Lissa vouch for you." she replies as the doors open. "Besides, you haven't gotten a good chance to meet my cousin yet. And I think that's the real reason why he brought us all home to Vale."

"Who, that white haired girl?" Emerald asks curiously as she watches Cinder push the button for the ground floor. "She does look familiar."

"She should." Cinder says with a growing grin. "She's the SDC heiress, Weiss Schnee."

"WHAT?!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Cinder!" Weiss calls out as she waves her arm. "Over here!"

Cinder smiles as she turns towards her cousin's voice, even though her nose stays buried in her scroll. Finally looking up, she giggles at the look of joy on her normally taciturn cousin's face. "Hey Weiss! What's up?"

Weiss dashes over and takes her arm, her tail wagging a mile a minute. "Come on, I want you to meet my partner and my friends!"

Cinder raises an eyebrow. "Wait, you have friends?" She asks in surprise. "And Uncle Jacques doesn't have a problem with that?"

Weiss looks around before answering in a whisper. "Hopefully he doesn't know about them yet. I mean, he knows about my partner, and he already hates her. But now that Uncle Alex is home…" her voice drifts off as a taller, blonde haired young man appears. "Fuck."

Cinder looks at Weiss in surprise. She rarely uses salty language at all, so to see the boy and utter her father's and Mama Carol's favorite swear word must mean…

"Miss Schnee, you're a very hard person to track down." He calls out a bit too smoothly for Cinder's tastes. Her ears swiveling, she can smell the confidence oozing from him, along with his expensive cologne. Putting herself between him and Weiss, she puts on her best smile.

"And why are you looking for my cousin?" She asks as she slowly flares her aura, activating her dust chambers.

The young man bows slightly. "Jaune Arc, at your service. And Weiss is my fiance of course."

Cinder growls gently as Weiss hides behind her. But her legendary temper ignites when she hears her cousin begin to whimper gently into her back. Patience, Cinder. You can cook him later. "Well I'm afraid your going to have to wait your turn to see her. She's catching up with me and my family right now."

To her surprise, Jaune nods. "Fair enough, Miss Fall. I'm a patient man, and we have all our lives to get to know each other better." He states calmly as he bows once more. "Good day to you both."

Cinder waits until he is well out of hearing range before turning around and hugging the younger girl. "So that's him?" She asks gently.

Weiss nods as she holds Cinder tightly. "It's not fair Cinny. I don't want to be with him!"

Cinder nods as she gently strokes her fluffy ears. "Still not admitting to the world you're a lesbian, are you?" She can't help but smile as Weiss shakes her head slightly in response. "You can't stay in the closet forever you know."

"Yes I can. I've done it this long." She mutters. "What's another fifty or sixty years?"

"Weiss, you have to be true to yourself. Don't be like Auntie Ada and live in denial." Cinder mumbles as she keeps rubbing Weiss's wolf ears to keep her calm. "She died with regrets, daddy said so."

"I can't. I won't do that to my partner, to my friends." She whines. "Ruby deserves so much better than me!"

Cinder sighs. It was always so easy to get Weiss to admit things, a side effect of being her older cousin. But a crush on her partner?

Cinder really needs to meet this Ruby now.


	20. Is that a sloth!

Cinder smiles as she shakes hand with quite possibly the most adorable wolf faunus she has ever met in her life. And she can also see what Weiss sees in her. Ruby Rose is kind-hearted, supportive, and obviously enjoys Weiss's company. Her other two friends, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie are also fairly impressive, and the four of them seem like a solid group of friends. Which is good for Weiss. She has so few friends of her own.

"So you are Weiss's cousin?" Lie Ren asks as he gives her a short bow instead of shaking hands.

Cinder nods as she returns the bow with one of her own, proper etiquette having been hammered into her by her Altesian born and raised mother. "I am. My name is Cinder. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Before Ren can say another word, he is roughly shoved to the side by a short ginger haired girl with a wide grin on her face. "Hi! I'm Nora! And Ren's mine! Got it?!"

Cinder giggles as her tail begins to wag in amusement. "You don't have to worry about anything, Nora. I'm a lesbian." She reassures the younger woman.

"Wow! Really?! But you're really pretty! I bet all the boys fight over you constantly!" Nora exclaims in shock as she stares wide eyed.

Cinder giggles. "Well I'm not interested I'm afraid. They would be barking up the wrong tree with me." She grins as she hears Weiss giggle, along with the last girl she has yet to meet. But she gets startled a bit as Nora throws her head back and laughs heartily.

"That's a good one! Not too many faunus willing to make a good pun!"

Cinder just shakes her head. So far this Nora girl seems like a solid friend for Weiss as well.

"Hey Nora! There's a sloth in the tree over there!" The mysterious Ruby calls out as she points to a nearby group of trees. To Cinder's surprise, the ginger woops loudly as she dashes off, Ren and Weiss in hot pursuit. She watches in shock as she begins to climb the first tree she comes to, until she feels a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Turning around, she blinks as a pair of silver eyes meet her own burning amber. "Hi, I'm Ruby Rose." She introduces herself again as she offers her hand.

Cinder smiles as she shakes the offered hand. "Cinder Fall. You must be Weiss's partner?" She asks. Of course, she catches the slight blush that runs quickly across her face as she turns to look at the white haired girl, who is doing her best to help Ren drag Nora out of a second tree.

"Uh huh! Her partner and best friend!" She declares as she pumps her fist into the air.

Cinder shakes her head. She's heard of Ruby of course. All of Haven is abuzz with rumors of Ozpin's prodigy, who started two years early and is already a team leader. But Cinder isn't one to simply listen to rumors. She likes the facts. And who better to ask then the girl herself.

"So, you started two years early?" Cinder asks curiously as she and Ruby walk away a bit to speak privately.

Ruby nods. "Weiss has been helping me catch up on what I need to learn since I came two years early, and I'm helping her with Field Studies and Survival Tactics." She replies.

"Goddess but I hope you can help her improve there. We took her camping a few years ago when we managed to sneak her and her sisters out of the Schnee Manor. Weiss was a walking disaster!"

Ruby sighs. "She's getting a lot better at filtering noise and tracking by scent, but she's clueless when it comes to telling directions." She looks around for a moment before whispering. "But it's fine, cause I never get lost."

Cinder raises an eyebrow. "Never? I find that hard to believe."

Ruby shakes her head as she smiles. "My dad never got lost either. He and my mom would finish hunts in record time." She brags as she sits on a nearby bench and pats the seat next to her.

Cinder nods as she sits next to her and kicks her short heels off with a smile. "Who are your parents? Do they come visit often?"

Ruby's smile turns sad as she takes her own shoes off and wiggles her toes. "My parents are dead. I live with my Uncle, Aunt and cousin along with my little brother and sister."

"Oh." Cinder feels awful, no horrible. She didn't mean to bring up such painful memories with just an innocent question. But she jumps a bit when Ruby takes her hand and squeezes it gently. Looking up, Ruby gives her a wide smile.

"My parents were Huntsmen. And they never hid that fact from me once I was old enough to understand." Ruby explains to her. "Besides, Uncle Tai and Auntie Raven are awesome, and Yang is a pretty cool older cousin and sister wanna be!" She adds the last with a giggle.

"Do you mind if I ask who your parents were?" Cinder asks calmly. Her large family knows everyone in the Huntsmen world at large, and her father had even been the head of Vale's headquarters for several years before accepting Ozpin's request to teach. Hell, she and Velvet grew up around stories of heroes, villains, powerful weapons, and the like.

"The Branwens." Ruby answers to Cinder's growing shock and surprise. "Summer and Qrow Branwen."

Cinder is speechless. Of all the many Huntsmen and Huntresses her parents worked with over the years, none of them left quite the impression as those two. Her father still refuses to speak of them after all these years, as they had been two of his closest and dearest friends. "Do you know what happened to them?" She finally asks once the initial shock is past.

Ruby shakes her head. "Sure don't. Even my Uncle and Aunt have no clue. They said once I get older, I need to find a huntsman known as the Mountain. He was there when they died."

Cinder nods slowly. She knows who that is. She worships her daddy, and knows he rarely talks about the Branwens. He blames himself for their deaths. But before she can say anything, Ruby smiles at her.

"I'm not ready to know yet, Cinder. I don't want to really know. They died as heroes, that much I do know. So!" Ruby gives her a conspiratory smile. "What can you tell me about Weiss?"

Cinder relaxes at that, and returns the grin with one of her own. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything!"

"Then sit back, cause I know plenty!" Cinder likes this girl. She's perfect for Weiss….


	21. The Reaper and the Robin

Ruby smiles as she steps off the bullhead on Patch. Weiss wanted to spend the long weekend with her family, and Ren and Nora had made plans themselves, all of them involving being in a locked in a hotel room.

That's as far as she dared asked. There's some things she doesn't want to know about.

But a genuine smile comes across her lips as a robin lands on her shoulder and chirps happily. "Hey little sister!" She giggles as the robin rubs her face gently across hers. "Where's Jay?"

She watches as the robin takes wing and transforms in front of her into a young woman who could almost pass for Raven Branwen, but slimmer. Her long raven black hair hangs to midback length while her blood red eyes glimmer in mirth as she runs back up and hugs her tightly. "Being lazy like always." Robin Rose-Branwen responds as Ruby hugs her back just as tightly.

Ruby giggles as she keeps holding the shorter girl. "Let me guess, still trying to beat Ultimo in Legend of Fantasy?"

Robin huffs as she looks back up. "Ever since you left. He still can't believe you beat him so easily."

Ruby just rolls her eyes as she finally releases her little sister and offers her her arm, which she takes with a grin. "That's cause I'm awesome!" She can't help but brag.

Robin nods. "Well yeah, you're special Wubby. Like window licking special." She teases with a smirk. "Uncle Tai even has a new helmet all ready for you!"

"Oi! Low blow! That was one time on a dare!" Ruby whines as the two of them start walking away from the docks and towards Patch proper. "I still can't believe Uncle Tai and Auntie Raven recorded it!"

Robin smirks, looking so much like Raven with that one facial expression that Ruby smiles. "Then you shouldn't have made that bet with Yangy."

"I knoooooooow!" She whines. "I have regrets!"

"And we have blackmail material for your next girlfriend."

"Noooooooooooo!"


	22. The White and Black Princesses

"Weiss!" A multitude of voices greet the white wolf as she enters the living area of the spacious Beacon Forge. Weiss can't help but smile as she is pulled into hug after hug by her large extended family. From her gentle giant Uncle Alex to even Velvet and once again Cinder, she feels loved once again for the first time in years.

"Let me get a good look at you Weiss." Her aunt Kate calls out, prompting her to walk over for inspection. "Still as petite as ever. Are you eating properly Weiss? Resting as you should?"

"Yes Aunt Katie." She replies with a small smile as she blushes from all the attention. She constantly forgets how different this side of her family is from the other side. The Schnee side. Jacques would already be railing on her over her five pounds weight gain, Whitley would be calling her a fatty, and Winter would be silent as always.

They would always apologize later on in the night, once father retires for the evening with his latest conquest. But it still stings. It still bother her. But they all have parts to play as the faunus children of Jacques Schnee.

But she is drawn out of her musing by the snapping of fingers in her face. Blinking, she smiles as she looks into her cousin Melody's hazel and green flecked eyes. "So! What's the story behind you and Ruby Rose?"

"Huh?!" She asks in surprise as she rears back a bit. "W-what are you talking about?! W-we're n-nothing but p-partners a-and friends!"

Melody's twin sister Melissa walks up and smirks. "That's not what we've heard. Or seen."

Melody nods. "You two are damned near inseparable. I'm amazed you didn't drag her along with you."

Weiss shakes her head almost violently as her blush extends to her entire body. "No no no no no! It's nothing like that! Really! She's just my partner and best friend! It can't be anything but that!"

Everyone freezes as they hear a loud whistle. "That's enough. We all know she's full of shit, so leave it be until I go have a long overdue talk with my piece of shit brother in law." Alexander Garibaldi calls out as he enters carrying a tray packed full of barbeque.

Weiss can't help but start drooling as the smell of the grilled meats hit her like a ton of bricks. It's been years since she's had her Uncle's legendary grilling. But she can't! She's already gained five pounds since she arrived at Beacon. And she still can't lose them!

With a chuckle, Alex shoves a rib into Weiss's mouth, making her hum in joy. "Need to put some weight on ya. Your nothing but skin, bones and hair. Ain't right for a girl your age."

Weiss's response is taking a hunk of meat off the bone and chewing happily. To hell with five pounds! I'm starving!

Of course, Weiss misses the laughter as her family laughs at her rapidly wagging tail, the look of bliss on her face, and her half closed eyes as she quickly picks the bone clean. And the laughter gains in strength as Weiss rushes a laughing Alex demanding more, while he holds the tray well above his own head.

But Weiss could care less. She's finally home with family that cares about her. The only thing that could make it perfect would be if a Red Reaper had come with her...

Willow Schnee sighs as she sits outside the forge, listening to the merriment inside. But her sharp hearing catches the soft footsteps, as her nose easily catches the scent of her Aunt Carol.

"She misses ya. She wants her sister back." Carol tells her quietly as she sits beside the younger woman.

Willow shakes her head. "She's better off without me. My hands are red now, and I won't surrender until I see Jacques pay for his sins." She replies softly, denying her heart yet again. "Besides, my business is with Adam Taurus. He goes too far."

Carol nods as she takes Willow's free hand and holds it in both of hers. "Sugar, that won't make no nevermind with Weiss. All she cares bout is you and this Ruby girl they keep teasing her with."

Willow nods as her right hand grips the sheath of her straight blade katana tighter. "Please Auntie. Please, let me go. Tell Weiss to let me go. I do this for her. So she can take our Mother's company back and set things right."

Carol shakes her head as she raises Willow's eye wrapping gently. "Wut yur owed is a pair ah beautiful red eyes. An ah told ya, come work for meh. Ah'll have ya pardoned, set ya right as rain again. We kin make ah'll this right. But please, come back ta tha family."

Willow shakes her head as she tries to re-cover her eyes. "No! Please stop! I don't deserve this! You should hate me!"

"I would never hate you, Willow." Weiss calls out softly as she kneels in front of her missing twin. "I love you, miss you, and want you to come home. To a family that loves us both and want what's best for us. Even Winter and Whitley are worried sick about you."

"I'm not worthy of being worried about." Willow groans. "He destroyed me! Took my sight!"

"And there are ways to restore your sight." Weiss tells her gently. "Please. Please stop fighting me and link with me again. Please?"

Willow stares at Weiss as their auras mingle together, signalling the re-establishment of their link. "Oh goddess, does my hair really look that bad?!"

Weiss giggles as she nods. "It does. Hungry?"

Her twin nods. "Starving."

"Come along, dolt. I'm still hungry myself." Weiss replies as she helps her up. "And tomorrow we are doing the transferal."

"Absolutely not!" Willow protests as she tries and fails to break free. "Weiss! Leggo you twit!"

"As my partner would say, nope!" She pops the "p" with a smile. "I have my other half back. And you are never running away again." Weiss Schnee tells Willow Schnee firmly as they walk into the house with their Aunt Carol following quietly behind.

"Willow!" The Garibaldis cheer, causing the young woman to burst into tears. "Welcome home!"


	23. The Red Reaper at Home

Ruby smiles as she opens the door to the Xiao Long-Rose-Branwen home. "I'm home!"

Her uncle Tai is the first to look up. "Hey there Ruby! Looking good!" He greets her as he walks up and gives her a bear hug.

"Can't…. Breathe…. Robin…. Halp!"

"Don't kill her, Uncle Tai. She's still a tax deduction for you and Auntie." Robin tells him.

Tai chuckles as he puts her down. "Where's Yang? I figured she would come back with you."

Ruby shrugs as she takes her cloak off while taking deep breaths. "I dunno. She said something about twins and strawberry sunrises."

Tai chuckles. "Uh huh. I bet she did." He shakes his head as he sits back down in the living room. "She probably still thinks your a virgin too."

Ruby groans. "That's me, innocent little Ruby." She grumbles as she flops down on the couch next to her uncle. "She doesn't even acknowledge my heats, even though it was what broke me and my last girlfriend up."

"She just worries about you, Ruby." Tai replies as he returns to his task of maintaining his fighting gauntlets. "Especially since apparently you're really crushing on a certain white haired partner?" He asks slyly.

Ruby groans. "Her and her big mouth!"

"Not just her sis. Mr. Ozpin himself called to talk to Uncle and Auntie about it." Robin chimes in. Ruby just come her now tomato red face with her hands as her ears flop down.

Tai nods. "He wants to be sure that you aren't going to have the same issues like you did in Signal." He admits. "He's a bit concerned about it."

Ruby growls as she raises her head, her embarrassment quickly being replaced by anger. "I can't help how I was born, now can I?" She declares angrily. "I can't help it makes my heats even worse than normal!"

Tai holds up his hands. "Easy, Ruby. We're just talking here, ok? No need to explode."

But Ruby is well and truly furious now as she stands. "Well I'm just so sorry I came out with so many extra pieces! At least Robin and Jay are normal, unlike little freakish Ruby."

Tai rises up angrily. "No one is saying anything like that in this household, Ruby Michelle. And you better can that attitude and quickly. You're still a minor, and if you're going to act like this, then I am going to agree with Raven and pull you out of Beacon." He threatens.

Ruby just looks at him before activating her semblance and vanishing upstairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her. But it doesn't take faunus hearing to hear the sobs echoing throughout the suddenly quiet living room.

Robin sighs. "Looks like she came home just in time. Looks like her next heat's about to kick in."

Tai just sighs miserably as he throws himself back onto the couch. "Yep. But it proves Ozpin's right. Fuck."

Robin tilts her head. "What do you mean?" She asks curiously.

Tai looks at Robin sadly. "We really can't handle her anymore. She really is Summer made over. Only your dad and an old friend of ours could handle her at her worst."

Robin just nods as she looks at her sister's door. Ruby's had it rougher than anyone. She thinks to herself. Goddess I hope this Weiss girl doesn't break her heart too.

Raven hates locked doors. Especially with four teenagers living in one house. Well, two teens and two preteens. Close enough to make her want to gag. Truth be told, she doesn't regret taking Summer and Qrow's three children in. Ruby is adorable, Robin is mischievous, and Jay is just lazy.

But Ruby is starting to give her a good run for her money, which she doesn't like one bit. But Raven has also come a long way from her bandit roots. Like now, she knocks politely instead of just kicking the door down. Summer broke her of that bad habit when she did that and almost lost her head. Literally.

"Leave me alone!" Ruby yells. Raven sighs, it really is like dealing with Summer all over again, and it sucks.

"Open the door Ruby. I just want to talk." She replies softly. "And it's dinner time. You need to eat."

"Don wanna! I got plenty of cookies and snacks hidden in here! I'm good!"

Raven growls as she beats on the door. "I will break it down!"

"No you won't! Uncle Tai already told you not to break down the door! I heard it!" Ruby retorts, causing the older woman to scream in frustration. "It pays to be a faunus sometimes." She adds almost sadly.

Raven pauses. Summer had had a rough childhood being an orphaned wolf faunus. Tai and herself did the very best they could to shelter and shield Ruby as well, especially since Qrow passed his unique ability on to the twins, thus ensuring they would look mostly human.

It made Ruby's life so much more difficult than it ever needs to be. Especially since wolf faunus like her are sociable people. They need a pack to protect…..

She suddenly grins as the thought occurs to her. "Ruby, tell me about Beacon? And about your team?"

The door finally opens to reveal Ruby standing there, cookie in mouth as she stares. "Really? Like really really?"

Raven nods as she smiles. "Really really. Especially about this Weiss girl Tai and I have been hearing so much about."

There we go. There's that sparkle back in her eyes! Raven thinks to herself as she gets dragged into the cluttered room full of half finished inventions, dirty clothes, junk food wrappers, and Ruby's excited voice as her tail wags dangerously fast. And through the next several hours of Ruby declaring all of Weiss's virtues, Raven can't help but smile.

 _Just like Summer…. Goddess I wish you could see her now, Sum…._


	24. If You Only Knew

Weiss doesn't move at the familiar weight against her back. It's been forever since she slept back to back with Willow, and by the sounds of her gentle snores, she is deeply asleep right now. Like she hasn't had a good night's sleep in some time now.

But that's also if she had even gotten any sleep herself. She's lain as still as possible most of the night, while staring at pictures she's taken of Ruby when the wolf girl wasn't looking, while listening to some of her favorite songs that remind her of the Reaper.

She wasn't expecting to miss her scent of strawberries and cookies, or her gentle snoring as she sneaks into her bed at night and cuddles into her back. She even misses the damned whistle! She misses the smell of her perfume, the smell of her daily cup of hot chocolate. She especially misses listening to her sing softly in the shower while she gets ready for her day.

And she pauses at her favorite picture of them together. Nora snapped it and sent it to them both during the school trip to Forever Fall. And it certainly gives her argument merit on everyone's opinion of if she and Ruby are dating or not. They are holding hands of course, while looking into each other's eyes and smiling softly.

Damn it, but how can she miss Ruby so much?! How can she mean so much to her already?! Why did she have to go to Patch?! It's not fair! Why did she have to fall in love with Ruby?! She deserves so much better than her!

But she almost jumps out of her skin and fur when her scroll dings, signalling a text message. Checking to see if anyone else heard it, she almost starts to cry when she sees it's from Ruby. Opening it, tears do start to fall slowly as she reads it over and over again.

Hey, it's 4:03, and I can't sleep without you next to me I toss and turn like the sea…..

Weiss can't help herself. She begins to type back slowly, as she sings softly…..

Ruby sighs as she flips over to her stomach again. Ever since Aunt Raven cheered her back up and she finally ate, she's been her normal, energetic self. But something's been missing. More like someone.

It was Robin who finally voiced it quietly to Uncle Tai: Weiss is missing. And she's right, Ruby's not used to her not being at least close by. Weiss is still at Beacon, visiting with her family there. And she's on Patch, over an hour away by ferry boat. Weiss is normally at most, only a building or two away, not over an hour away. And Ruby's hating this huge amount of distance between them a lot.

So between tossing and turning from a lack of Weiss's scent of blueberries and coffee, her expensive perfumes, and her comfy blanket and reassuring presence at night, all she can do is stare at the picture Nora took of them at Forever Fall and do her best not to cry.

But in the middle of turning over for the hundredth time, inspiration strikes her. No one, not even her Uncle and Aunt or siblings know her as well as Weiss. Opening a text message, Ruby bites her lip nervously as she types quickly and pushes send, hoping the white wolf she's come to adore more than even her precious cookies is awake. But she yelps in surprise as her scroll dings with a message. Seeing it's from Weiss, she whimpers as she imagines the horrible reaction she no doubt got.

If I drown tonight, bring me back to life, breathe your breath in me…

Ruby's tail tucks between her legs as she whimpers more at the fact that Weiss can't sleep either. But a second message surprises her yet again.

The only thing I still believe in is you, if you only knew…..

Ruby finally smiles as she types again. I think we need to talk about us when we get back, Snowflake. Because I'm kinda wanting there to be an us. Waiting nervously, she covers her head with her pillow, not believing that she had sent that message! What is wrong with her?! She's never been so forward, not even with her last girlfriend! The poor girl had to chase her, not the other way around! So what makes Weiss any different?! But her fear turned into joy as she spots Weiss's response.

I would like that a lot, My Little Rose. I'll be at the Forge at Beacon all day tomorrow if you want to go ahead and come talk.

"Yes!" Ruby cheers as she jumps out of bed, pumping her fists into the air in triumph. But, it was a short lived triumph as she slips on a stray can and tumbles onto the floor with a thud.

"Owie!"

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 **The song that inspired this story is If You Only Knew from Shinedown. It's an amazing song, and I finally managed to get it squeezed into the story.**


	25. The Heir's Side of the Story

The sound of clanking fills the quiet of the penthouse of Arc Industries' Vale headquarters. Normally empty, the current heir, Jaune, has taken it over as his own fortress of solitude on the weekends and holidays since the start of the semester at Beacon. And it works perfectly for him, as it gives him easy access to Veteran's Park for jogging as well as a full gym to work out in. And of course, privacy for him as well as his real love interest, who is currently still in Atlas.

Of course, he could have the penthouse filled with the sounds of classical music, but he enjoys the moment of brief quiet away from Nora, who is a chatterbox, as well as Ruby, who talks about nothing but weapons and Weiss. That is definitely the last person he wants to think about right now. Especially after spending the last hour reassuring his girlfriend that he was still thinking of some way to get out of this contract.

So now he's doing his favorite form of stress relief: Training himself until he collapses from exhaustion. But tonight it isn't working at all. All he can hear is her tear filled voice as she begs him to not leave her alone. That she's been so alone all her life. That she loves him so much.

And he loves her too, despite the fact that they have a rather unconventional relationship. But it's one he cherishes nonetheless. It makes him happy, amidst a virtual ocean of sisters, a demanding mother, and a spineless father.

Movement out of the corner of his eye was the only warning he had. Shoving up, he still doesn't have enough strength of his own to stop the two Arc Industries goons from shoving the weight filled bar back down onto his chest. He lays there growling as he realizes what, or rather who is coming next.

"Jaune. I do not recall giving you permission to use the penthouse." Jeanne Arc declares as she leans against the arms of the exercise machine where the barbell normally sits. "This would be considered trespassing."

Jaune smirks as he wiggles a bit, proud of the fact that once again, he's openly defied his mother, one of the most powerful business women in the world. "Being heir has its perks, Mother." He reminds her.

The older woman simply smiles at her only son. "Jaune, do you know how tired I am of indulging your petty rebellions?" She asks calmly as she looks down at him. "I would punish you, but I'm fairly certain you have Crocea Mors hidden away somewhere. And I did not think to bring Fleur de Licé with me."

"Too bad. Been a while since we crossed blades, Mother." Jaune smirks as he continues to struggle to free himself. "It might even be an even match now."

"Perhaps." Jeanne admits as a young blue haired woman wearing a business skirt and jacket appears and presents her with a chair to sit in. "Jaune, why do we keep doing this?" She suddenly asks him, her voice heavy with emotion. "Why can you not simply accept my decision for your future?"

Jaune growls. "Because it isn't my decision!" He roars angrily as he doubles his efforts to free himself. "I'm not your puppet, like Jessa! We all saw how her marriage ruined her!"

Jeanne looks away, shame on her face. "Jaune, don't bring her into this. Please."

"I can and I will!" He roars as he finally manages to bring the bar up into the crotch of one of the black suited goons, causing him to squeal. But before he can capitalize on it, the girl is on him in an instant, the barrel of a pistol rammed into the bottom of his jaw.

"Make me shoot. It's full of anti aura rounds." She hisses dangerously.

"Enough, Kaya." Jeanne orders as she stands, her face an emotionless mask. "As always, you don't know how to control your tongue, my son. Nor follow my orders." She glares at him. "Woo Weiss Schnee, accept the fact that you will be marrying her. And get your things out of my penthouse. Do not let me catch you here again."

The girl follows quietly, waving at him with a smile on her face. "So long handsome."

Jaune ignores her as he sits down on the bench and looks at the floor, torn as to what to do next, carry on his quiet rebellion or concede to his mother's demands. To still try to live his own life, or to become a puppet just like his oldest sister…..


	26. The Red Reaper and the Mocking Jay

"Hey Ruby!" Jay Rose-Branwen calls out to his older sister as she enters the kitchen. "What happened to your cloak?" He asks her as he holds it up to reveal the long gash on it from the Nevermore's feather she barely avoided getting impaled by during initiation.

Ruby yawns as she sets her scroll down on the counter. A long night that ended with her and Weiss texting each other until sleep finally claimed her at least has left her rather lethargic. Looking at her brother, she realizes that he is almost taller than her now, but still pudgy from his preference of playing video games than training. But the red eyes staring at her are still full of intelligence, and more importantly pride in his brave older sister. But cookies he's looking more and more like Qrow Branwen every day.

"My partner fixed it for me after initiation." She replies before yawning again, smacking her lips a bit for emphasis. "Why? Are you wanting it again?"

"Nah, not all mangled up like this." He replies as he lets the hem go, the fabric vanishing back around the corner of the wall. "Besides, the huntsman life isn't for me anyway." He adds as he sits down at the table.

"Awwww, why not? Fresh air, plenty of exercise, and lots of pretty girls with interesting scars!" Ruby teases him as she starts making herself a fresh bowl of strawberry oatmeal on the stove.

"No thanks. I'm allergic to fresh air, sweating makes me break out in hives, and scars are overrated." He snarkily replies.

"Oi! Low blows!" She replies as she looks mock offended, a hand over her heart. "My heart hurts now."

Jay smirks. "Didn't know you had one of those sis? Whose chest did you rip it out of?" He squeals as he barely avoids getting hit by the still hot pot of oatmeal that is suddenly sent flying in his direction. But both Ruby and Jay wince as Tai screams in pain as the pot and it's contents hit him instead.

"Jay did it!" Ruby declares with a wicked grin as she starts triggering her semblance. Before vanishing completely, she flips her brother off while blowing him a kiss before leaving a trail of rose petals going back upstairs before the front door flies open and she escapes.

"JAY!" Tai roars as he stands, covered in strawberry oatmeal and taking his belt off.

"DAMN IT RUBY!" Jay screams as he tries to run for it.

Robin and Raven watch from the top of the stairs.

"Should we save him?" Robin asks quietly.

Raven smirks as she shakes her head. "Nah, he needs the exercise."

"UNCLE TAI! NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

THWAP!


	27. The Inquisition of the White Princess

Hey everyone! Wyn here with an update for this adorable story of mine! I really do appreciate how patient everyone has been with me and my sporadic updates, and I want you to know that your wonderful reviews and constant support mean so much to me, and inspire me to keep getting better and better! Now, without further ado, let's take a look at our White Princess, and her morning after!

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"Weiss…."

Go away….

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiissssss….."

I just want to sleep!

"I have coffee."

Weiss grumbles as she opens one eye carefully, so as not to wake Willow. A side effect of their odd mental link is the fact that they can share eyesight. Handy when stealing food from the kitchens or making sure the coast is clear before venturing out. But not so convenient when trying to wake up without waking the other. Especially since Willow is still apparently a night owl, while she is still more of a day person.

Looking around, she spots Velvet smiling at her as she stands over her, a cup of coffee in hand and still dressed in her normal sleeping outfit of an old school shirt and a pair of short shorts. "Is it fully leaded?" She asks quietly as she slowly sits up and stretches.

Velvet nods as she hands the cup to her. "Yep. Made you a cup of Mum's and Daddy's stuff." She informs her quietly as Willow grabs for Weiss and misses. "You might wanna get up before she actually grabs you."

Weiss nods as she stands and adjusts her light blue nightgown to keep her modesty intact before finishing her stretching. Lifting her cup to her lips, she finally takes a sip of coffee, smiling as she feels the scalding hot liquid reinvigorate her body and senses. "Oooooo, this is the expensive stuff." She murmurs happily as she slowly begins moving towards the bathroom, her bladder demanding relief.

Velvet laughs. "Like Daddy and Mum would buy the cheap crap. They'd never get up in time to do anything."

Weiss nods as she reaches the bathroom door. "Excuse me a moment, please?" Closing the door, she soon sighs in relief, not believing for a second that she drank that much sweet tea. She and Willow both ate most of the food, drank most of the tea, and even demolished several containers of leftovers like a pair of starving…

Like a pair of starving wolves.

Sighing as she finishes, she can't help but to look at herself in the mirror as she washes her hands. Other than her still slightly distended stomach, she still is showing no real evidence of her recent weight gain. She is still slender, with more of a dancer's build than a fencer's. Even her workout routine that she still follows despite no longer being in Atlas keeps her strictly in line with the ideal Atlesian figure. Skinny, and not very curvy.

Turning to look at herself in the mirror from a different angle, she sighs as she looks at her bum. At least it's curvy. She thinks to herself as she raises her tail and wags it for a moment. I need to give Willow's a good brushing. It's full of knots. She sighs as she turns again while grabbing her cup. She needs to fast again before the upcoming Fall Break, hopefully she can lose all this extra weight by then.

Opening the door, she smiles slightly when she sees Velvet waiting patiently for her. "Sorry for the wait."

The older girl shrugs. "It's fine. Your not as bad as Sienna. She would still be in there fixing every last strand of hair." She guffaws. "Miss Perfect would already be lecturing it for not cooperating!"

"Shhhh. Don't wake Willow. She's exhausted." Weiss hisses at her as she looks at her sleeping twin, who is now wrapped tightly in the blanket she herself brought from the dorm room, and cuddled up to the pillow she borrowed from Aunt Katie. Even sleep hasn't rid her of the stress lines across her face, or the fact that one hand rests on the sheath of her new sword, Fate. With a sigh, Weiss turns to look at Velvet. "What's up?"

Velvet smiles softly. "Been worried bout you is all. I know you and Ruby have been avoiding me since I made Winchester an elf. Why?"

Weiss blinks before groaning. She did notice! Damn! She thinks to herself as she takes a breath. "Velvet, I have to be very careful. Father has eyes everywhere."

"Not here at Beacon." Cinder declares as she yawns and stretches while walking towards the kitchen while still wearing an oversized t-shirt that just has to be one of her father's. "Velv, Sienna and I took care of all of them already." She reports.

Velvet nods. "Specially sis. She was so mad her tail unwrapped from her waist." The rabbit faunus reports.

Cinder smirks as she pours herself a cup of coffee, obviously pleased with herself by the way her tail has taken to wagging. "Yeah. I made two of em piss themselves. Emmy couldn't stop laughing!"

Weiss giggles at the mental image of grown men and women pissing themselves in the face of all of her cousin's obvious rage fueled house cleaning. But she sobers at the thought of the fact that her Father no longer has any viable spies here at Beacon. So much so that a small whimper escapes her throat.

Velvet suddenly hugs her. "Calm down. Daddy's taking them all back to Atlas now, along with a message." She informs Weiss calmly as she maintains the hug to keep the white wolf calm.

Cinder nods as she sits down on a barstool set up on the pub height counter top. "Him and Sienna both. She's still pissed."

Weiss sighs. If her uncle and oldest cousin, who is normally a very level headed and logically thinking woman are returning the spies, then her evil and cruel father is in for a nasty shock. No doubt, they will use those poor souls as lawn darts or something to that effect, up to and including oversized anal plugs. Shaking her head with a sigh, she groans as she raises her coffee cup only to discover that she's already drained the contents.

Cinder, the Goddess bless her, pats the barstool next to her with a smile. "So!" She declares. "Let's talk about a midnight confession to a certain Rose!"

Weiss blushes as she stares at her cousin. "B-but h-how did you k-know?!" Damn it! As always, Cinder threw her off and her damned stutter's back! Ugh!

Velvet grins as she pushes Weiss to the proper chair and physically sits her down like a child before boxing her in by sitting next to her. "We broke into your phone after you finally fell asleep." She informs her with a smirk. "By the way, interesting passcode."

Weiss's blush intensifies as she watches Cinder refill both their cups of coffee. "I-it's R-Ruby's birthday." She admits as her tail tries to tuck, but gets held by the high backed barstool. Her ears however have no issues, and flop down on her head, causing Cinder to giggle.

"I bet her's is your's, isn't it?" The other wolf faunus asks as she grins while passing Weiss her cup back.

Weiss simply nods as she continues to burn a bright red in her embarrassment, her fresh cup of coffee sitting untouched in front of her.

"Wow, Weissy's in love." Willow snickers as she joins them at the counter, Cinder moving over to let her sit next to her twin so she would have a better view of her surroundings. Her already messy hair is now sticking out at very odd angles as she takes the offered stool as well as Weiss's cup of coffee, while she tugs at the borrowed nightgown to get it to settle down a bit.

"Sorry, Noiry. We weren't trying to wake you." Velvet apologizes as she sips at her own cup.

"It's fine. When Weissy's mental train derailed, it exploded like something out of a Mistrali action movie." She replies while shrugging before taking a sip of the black liquid. "Bleh, just two sugars?!" She protests as she clumsily reaches for the creamer bowl, which Velvet helpfully pushes in front of her. "Thanks Velv."

"No problem, Willow." The rabbit faunus replies as she keeps looking at Weiss, waiting for a reply of some kind.

"Ruby l-loves those. T-the cheesier t-the b-better." Weiss admits quietly as she stares at the counter. To her surprise, a fresh cup of coffee is suddenly pushed into her view, along with a familiar scent. Looking up, she stares into her Aunt Katie's knowing smile.

"Then tell us all about her, Weiss." Kate requests in her quiet, yet commanding voice. "After all, we have to make sure she's worthy of a Garibaldi woman."

"B-but I'm a S-Schnee!" She protests.

"Not for long." All four women reply gravely as they share glances.

Weiss can't help but worry about what her Uncle and cousin are planning now. Certainly nothing good, that's for sure…..

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Thank you all again! Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long to get out! Until then, see you next chapter!


	28. When A Mountain Falls On You

Carolina Scarlatina-Garibaldi sighs as she walks through the halls of the Valian Defense Force headquarters quickly while adjusting the low collar of her stark white uniform. As the ranking General in charge of the Defense of Vale proper, she has a lot of responsibilities to tend to on a day to day basis. From monitoring troop movements along Vale's expansive defense walls, to monitoring the entry into Mountain Glen for possible Grimm incursions or White Fang activity, her work day is normally filled from the moment she reports for duty to the moment she either falls asleep at her desk or gets dragged home by Kate. All in all, she desperately needs an adjutant to hand a lot of her day to day business. Or the occasional ruffled feathers like today.

Accepting the return of her auramate and honor daughter in anti aura manacles and full restraints is definitely one of those feathers ruffled situations.

But then again, she couldn't help but burst into laughter when she received the call from a furious James Ironwood, commanding officer of Atlas's own forces as well as Headmaster of the nation's huntsman academy to notify her that Alex and Sienna had been arrested for a multitude of crimes, including multiple counts of assault, trespassing, a few attempted murder charges, loads of destruction of private property charges, and the illegal use of a living being in the attempt to sodomize another. That one had been the kicker, and gotten her laughing so hard that Ironwood hung up on her in disgust. A horrible decision in hindsight, but she has no regrets.

And so, she now finds herself walking outside to sign for them, all the while grinning like an idiot as she spots Ironwood as well as his two prisoners, and to her surprise Whitley and Winter Schnee.

"Jimmy!" Carol calls out as Whitley rushes to her and hugs her tightly. "Heard mah old man Mountain gave y'all ah fit!" She finishes her greeting as she hugs her nephew back just as tightly, grateful to see his tail wagging a mile a minute in joy.

For his part, James Ironwood stands ramrod straight, as if a board is nailed to his back as he returns her smile with a look of disdain. "General Scarlatina, your husband had best be grateful that all of Atlas still owes him a great debt. Otherwise, he as well as your honor daughter would be languishing under my coldest and most remote prison."

"Now now, Jimmy. Ain't no need ta be all formal like. Call meh Carol. Carolina iffin yur feelin that fancy like." She replies as she keeps a loose hold on Whitley, who still has her in a virtual deathgrip. "Besides, no real harm done, iffin ah understood ya correctly." She adds with a smirk as Whitley nods into her ample chest, and Winter smirks and nods behind the General's back.

Ironwood however begins to sputter as his eyes widen in rage. "No harm done?! He and his daughter destroyed a large section of the Schnee Manor, demolished almost all the security guards, and caused major bodily harm to the owner of the single largest corporation in the world! And you claim that there was no harm done?!"

Carol nods as she reaches up and begins to scratch behind one of Whitley's ears, causing his tail to wag even faster. "Sounds ta me like old Jacques got wut was comin to em for ah while now." She replies casually, getting a trio of snickers from Alex, Sienna, and Winter. "Besides Jimmy, ah know you heard that tha Valian Council voted ta terminate all ah his contracts just this mornin. Come ta find out, they don't take too kindly to ah man that purposely blinded one of his own daughters." She points out in silent glee, thrilled that she had gotten them roused so quickly with just a snapshot of her face, her milky white orbs more proof of Jacques' cruelty to both the faunus as well as his own daughter. And all in just a few short hours, because she will be damned if her nieces and nephew suffer any longer at his hands.

For a moment, his facade vanishes as he looks in shock. "Th-that was true?! He really blinded Willow?!" He asks, his composure cracking almost visibly.

Alex nods as his face turns grim, as does Sienna's, while Winter snorts. "Did you truly believe I would lie to you General? My father is guilty of so much more. And once my siblings, family and myself gather more proof, we shall crucify him over his precious money that he covets more than us, his own children!" She declares angrily, more than a few of her troops giving her a rousing ooorah in reply.

Carol nods in agreement as she takes an offered datapad and signs for her auramate and honor daughter. "Maybe you need ta go speak ta her personally. She's at the house with most of tha girls." She informs him. "Best hurry though, ain't no tellin iffin Willow's still thair or not. Ah pulled her travel permits, but she's downright resourceful."

Ironwood nods as he looks downward. "Perhaps that is an excellent idea, Carol." He agrees as he finally drops his stern facade to reveal a man who's responsibilities have begun to wear him down. "Yes, I believe a side trip to Beacon is in order. Provided of course, he remains behind." He adds, motioning to a grinning Alex, who winks and blows her a kiss.

Carol nods as she keeps comforting Whitley. "Ah'll hold em here for ah spell." She agrees as she motions for her troops to gather up the two prisoners as well as Whitley's few effects. "Who's are those?" She asks as she looks at a second set of bags.

"Mine, Aunt Carol." Winter replies as she steps forward. "I've tendered my resignation from the Atlesian Military and find myself needing new employment." She explains as Ironwood quietly boards his bullhead and departs, the vessel already pointed directly at Beacon as it accelerates.

"Yur hired. Been needin an adjutant ah kin trust." Carol immediately replies as her own troops release Alex and Sienna, the latter immediately beginning to laugh as she hugs Winter, while the former stretches. "Now, wut in tha ten hells did ya do?!" She demands as she glares up at her massive auramate, who grins back as he gives a squealing Winter a one armed hug.

"Well, what had happened was….." Alex begins as the biggest shit eating grin in history appears on his face. Carol just rolls her eyes, knowing that this particular story is about to be ridiculous, overdramatic, and completely and totally true…...


	29. You Go Splat!

Hey everyone! Wyn here with today's action packed installment of the Red Reaper and the White Princess! I also feel I need to explain something. My OC character Sienna Garibaldi is not Sienna Khan, the leader of the White Fang. She is actually an OC created by my friend Cushiony Siren 3 (who is an awesome writer, and everyone needs to go read his team TAPE story) that the two of us together have worked on and expanded on to make her a wonderful character and awesome oldest sibling and cousin. So, without any further ado, let us continue with the complete and total destruction of Jacques Schnee!

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Alex sighs as he pushes the call button again, while his daughter Sienna hauls the last of the two dozen Schnee spies out of the rented Bullhead. "Anything yet, Father?" She asks as she adds the paralyzed cook to the pile of his similarly paralyzed comrades.

"Nah, bein ignored like usual." He sighs. "An for tha love of tha Goddesses, will ya stop bein so damned formal?!"

"Never." She replies calmly as she moves to join him before the massive dust reinforced gates. Loading a magazine into her long rifle, Wandering Nomad, she looks up at him. "Shall we proceed?"

"Yeah, I guess. Hurts to know ah gotta do this." He sighs as he pushes the call button one last time. "Hey, Jacky? Last chance to let me in so we can settle this peaceful like. Ah really ain't wantin much, just for ya ta sign some papers is all. Oh, and to get outta mah house."

To both their surprises, they get a response from a surprise voice. "Welcome home, Sir Alex. Unfortunately, Mr. Schnee is hiding in his office, and has taken control of all the Manor's defense systems. He has also ordered Security to detain you while General Ironwood arrives to escort you back to Vale.

Alex snorts as Sienna shakes her head and chuckles. "He does realize I got the Manor when Daddy died, right? Technically, Jimmy can't do shit to me."

"As I am aware sir. He has taken over Miss Snowy's office on the second floor of the North Wing. Good hunting, Sir."

"Thanks Klein. Make sure everybody's clear, will ya?" He replies calmly as he nods to Sienna. The young woman moves up quickly to the gate and takes a covering position as Alex strides up to them confidently. With a wide grin, he attaches a heavy looking brown satchel in the center of the snowflake and raises a small antenna up under one corner of the flap.

"Sir!" A guard calls out nervously while approaching cautiously, his assault rifle still at sling arms. "I have to insist that you remove that object and leave." He orders in a voice so full of terror it makes Alex and Sienna both grin.

Alex's grin turns wolfish. "An who's gonna make me? You?" He counters as he steps back and takes cover opposite the massive stonework column holding the right gate, while Sienna ducks behind the left.

"Sir! Sir, you forgot your…." The rest of what the guard was saying was lost in the massive explosion that rips the gates to shreds, with the unfortunate side effect of the guard getting virtually decapitated by a flying piece of shrapnel.

Tossing a small remote to the side, he whistles as Sienna joins him back in front of the now twisted and ruined once white gates. The Mountain looks at them sadly as his eldest child smirks.

"Grandmother Snowy is going to kill you in the afterlife." She comments idly as she looks around for anyone brave enough to try to approach them after that massive explosion.

"Yeah, Momma loved them damned gates. Took Daddy over ah year to have em made." He looks at the destruction he caused. "But she was right bout one thing."

"And that is, Father?" She asks as they begin to stride forward towards the Manor proper, Wandering Nomad already raised to a firing position.

Alexander Garibaldi sighs sadly as he draws a pair of bastard swords from under his long black drover's coat. "She always said Jacky's gonna be ah pain to get outta the house."

Sienna nods as she uses her overcharge semblance to fire an aura charged bullet at the front doors, blowing them open at the lock. "Then it is fortunate I came. Today is eviction day, and I shall be damned if he defiles Grandmother and Grandfather's home any further."

"Amen darlin. Ah got the left." He calls out as he suddenly dashes away with a speed that defies a man of his size's stature and build and engages a group of security guards coming down the stairs from the ballroom, the swords in his hands already flashing in the mid-afternoon light.

"Come, let us take out the garbage!" She calls back as she moves to engage several bots emerging from a sitting chamber directly to her right. Wandering Nomad is now in a spin as a bayonet emerges from the thick forward stock and locks into position, it's own silvery metal gleaming as well.

The halls are soon full of screaming guards, the sounds of breaking mechs, and the screams of Sienna Garibaldi telling them all to get the hell out of her grandparent's home before they really make her angry, as well as Alexander Garibaldi calling out for Jacques Schnee to show himself, and to take his ass kicking like the man he wishes he could be, then to get the fuck out of his house!

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Klein Seiben smirks as he steps over a fallen security guard, his pockets turned inside out and his face looking like an abused punching bag. Looking over his shoulder, he notes that the single maid accompanying him is still present before he moves to stand next to Sienna Garibaldi, who lowers her weapon to give him a long overdue hug. "My but you have grown Miss Sienna." He whispers quietly, mindful of any remaining guards that could possibly be left.

"It has been far too long." Sienna whispers back as her auburn colored cat tail waves in her excitement at seeing the older man and longtime family friend.

Klein chuckles as he returns the hug, even as he looks at the ruins of what was once the Northwest Wing. Not a single door, picture, object of art, or even the carpeting was spared the young woman's vicious assault. But what Klein finds truly amazing is the guard who is dangling from the ceiling, his head trapped within. "I see the apple has truly not fallen far from the tree."

Sienna giggles. "I will never admit to anyone that this was the most fun I've had in some time. It's been forever since I got to cut loose like this."

"Indeed Miss. I must admit that Leigh and I also enjoyed clearing out the Southwest Wing to get to security." He chuckles as he hefts a massive halberd type polearm to one shoulder. "Although I am a bit rusty. Fortunately, Leigh had no such issues thanks to her rather brutal daily training regimen."

Sienna nods as she begins to dig into the pockets of another fallen guard, this one looking like the flight of stairs he was thrown down fell on him afterwords. "Good. I trust she has been watching your back then, ever since that horrid man took the Manor?" She stops and looks up at him. "And who is this Leigh?"

"Indeed she has. She is a new feline faunus maid I hired to assist me with the day to day chores. And I assume you are searching for the card key to Miss Snowy's office?" He asks.

"No, to access Whitley's quarters. Father is quite insistent that he return with us. That is my assigned task." She replies as she begins searching another downed guard, this one looking like a Beringel had slammed him repeatedly on the ground by his feet. "And a faunus readily agreed to work here?" She asks curiously as she looks up at him.

Klein chuckles. "You have not met Leigh. She graduated third in her class from Haven Academy, carries her main weapon constantly, and only answers to me." He informs her. "The only true fault I find with her is that she has accumulated a monstrous amount of debt for a woman her age."

Sienna nods as she moves to search the final guard, head hanger, who swats feebly at her and earning a solid punch to the testicles for his efforts. "Damn! None of the have the damned keycard!" She declares angrily before punching the guard once more, getting a muffled scream of pain out of him.

Klein nods as he takes a pen light out of his pocket and clicks it on and off three times, getting two flashes in return a moment later. "Then we need Leigh. She can hack the door panels with ease." He informs her as he puts the light away. "It's how we managed to get into the panic room before your father collapsed the Southeast Wing."

Sienna winces at the news. "So much for getting Weiss's things, along with Willow's." She mutters as she moves back to Klein's side to wait.

"Fear not. I removed anything of sentimental value after Miss Weiss left for Beacon. I shall admit, I saw this coming." Klein informs her as he pats her shoulder reassuringly.

Sienna nods as she leans against the wall next to the door. "As did we all. Especially after Daddy and Mum saw Willow's eyes. How in the hell did he even manage it?"

"A dust concoction of his own making. Sadly, none of us have been able to discover the formula as of yet." He replies as he checks his scroll and sighs. "Leigh, will you please stop dilly dallying and come along? We do not have much time left." He calls down the hall.

Sienna nods as she looks at him, her eyes flashing. "Daddy'll beat the tar out of him until he talks." She bristles angrily as her formal speech drops.

"Good!" A new voice calls out as a Raven haired, purpled eyed cat faunus in a maid's outfit skips past them, an odd metal whip on a custom holster on her back. But Sienna can't help but smile softly at the tender look the older man gives the short faunus girl. "Can he tell Jacqass I quit while he's at it?" She adds as she comes to a stop in front of the door panel.

"Ah Leigh, excellent timing as always." Klein chuckles. "And no, your debts are still far too significant to overlook." He reminds her, getting a chuckle out of Sienna and a groan from the maid.

"Fiiiiiiiiiiine." She whines as she looks over the sealed door, it's various defenders cast away like broken toys. Taking her scroll out of her pocket, she attaches a small cable to a data port on the door's security panel and pushes a series of buttons. "Ok, give it a sec."

Sienna raises an eyebrow. "And here I thought you would be some kind of genius hacker or something?"

"Nah, just something I picked up from Roman in Vale before coming here." She replies as she pushes several buttons. "Been spying on Jacqass for the better part of a year for him."

This time, it's Klein's turn to look surprised. "Then the sob story of being broke is a lie?" He asks her quietly.

"Oh no, I owe so much money my future kids may have to finish paying it all off." She replies as the doors unlock. "But Byte was worth every penny." She adds as she joins them, while laying a gentle hand on his chest. "Along with meeting you. That's been the best part of all."

Sienna nods as she opens the door slowly, giving them a quiet moment. "We'll talk later. Whitley?" She calls out softly as she enters, moving her rifle slowly, while pulling the bayonet back into its storage position. "Whitley?"

Leigh enters next, her whip in hand, but still coiled. "Whit? Come on out."

Klein keeps watch on the hallway, trusting the two faunus women to be able to find him. He hears a sudden squeal followed by a crashing sound. Looking for himself, he smiles as he spots young Whitley hugging a downed but smiling Sienna, his tail wagging a mile a minute as Leigh moves away, no doubt to quickly gather his things. Nodding in satisfaction, he sets his halberd down and sends a text message to Alex. Whitley is secured. Do as you will.

Klein Seiben smirks as he puts his scroll away. Perhaps a change of scenery would be advised for him and Leigh both. He's heard that Vale is quite breathtaking this time of year…

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SMACK

Winter Schnee winces as she hears the echoing slap from the corner leading into the western wing of the once beautiful Schnee Manor. Well, more like the Schnee prison camp for the reeducation of the upper class faunus youth. She can't help but shudder at that thought, even as the memories of her upbringing rise up like ghosts of years past, to both haunt as well as comfort the young.

Things had been wonderful growing up while Snowy and Garrett Garibaldi-Schnee had been alive. Snowy, who had mourned her first husband Nicolas for several years before meeting the former Valian general and Senior Huntsman, was impressed with the windower and quite taken with his then eight year old son, impressed enough to invite them both along on an extended hunt with her and her own eight year old daughter. Theirs ended up being a whirlwind romance that lasted the whole six months of the hunt, and ended with a proposal over the half dissolved carcass of a defeated Ursa Prime the size of a school bus. A proposal that Snowy accepted with glee.

Winter and Sienna's, then later on Cinder and Velvet's early childhoods had been filled with countless camping trips with their giant of a wolf faunus grandpa, plenty of business days with their petite, red eyed wolf faunus grandma which included impromptu long lunches that included the playground of the McWulfy's near the SDC building which was back then only a third of its current size, and loads of fun with both Uncle Alex and Auntie Katie as well as Miss Summer and Mr. Qrow whenever they could make time to visit with their busy hunting schedules.

But then things started to go horribly wrong. Shortly after her twin sisters were born, Garrett and Snowy were killed in a freak airship accident while traveling to Vale to visit Uncle Alex and Auntie Kate, who had just found out they were having twins of their own.

Their bodies as well as the airship mysteriously crashed into the ocean between Mistral and Vale. Not even the first piece of wreckage was ever discovered, nor the giant SDC branded vessel was ever found. She can still remember Mama and Uncle Alex both sobbing brokenly at the memorial service for them, the loss of their parents a wound that would never completely heal.

Then five years later, her mother and the Branwens had been killed in a hunt, and Uncle Alex badly injured and left in a coma for over a year. And that is when her own once meek and quiet father made his move. Before there were even proper burials done for the fallen huntresses and huntsman, he seized full control of the SDC in a hostile takeover so brutal, so ruthless, that both the board of directors as well as the Altesian courts were caught completely off guard by the swiftness of it. And to this day, Mama's will still goes disputed in the Atlesian courts no thanks to Jacques and his high priced independent lawyer, Hazel. It will no doubt be a legal battle that he will draw out as long as possible, just to spite his own children and Mama's rightful heirs.

SMACK

The echoing blow brings her back to her senses and the present as well. Looking around, she sighs as she sees the almost complete and utter destruction of the north wing. Grandma would already be screaming in a rage if she saw this, Grandpa would be impressed, and she, Sienna, Cinder and Velvet would be marveling at the scene itself, while oooooing and all agreeing that Uncle Alex would be in deep trouble.

SMACK

Enough, she has to stop her uncle from killing Father. Well, not yet anyway. She as well as Willow and Siena Khan have been slowly gathering all the evidence they need to hang Jacques Schnee by his toes over an Ursa's den naked and covered in honey. She has been covering all the legal angles as a member of the Atlas Military, as well as helping Weiss as much as possible at Beacon. Willow has been handling all the not so legal angles with the help of an old family friend, and the Khan has been aiding with eyewitness testimonies of escaped slaves from the mines in Mistral.

But it's still not enough. Because Winter and Willow Schnee firmly believe that Jacques had something to do with the deaths of their grandparents, their mother, and two dear people as close to them as family, leaving behind a father and uncle who can't remember the day they died, and twelve children with more questions than answers. Questions that the three women are determined to find answers for. And then Jacques will pay with his life. If she can stop Uncle Alex from killing him first.

SMACK

"Just sign the goddamned papers, Jacky! Ah ain't got all damned day!"

"Go to hell, you foul, despicable beast!"

SMACK

Winter winces at that one as she hurries onward. That last one definitely didn't sound like the love taps she has heard until now. Uncle Alex is getting angry now, and he's going to be much harder to stop if he loses his temper now. Rushing in, she slides to a stop at the sight of Grandma's once elegant study and home office, which now looks like nothing less than a class eight blast dust infused bomb exploded. Pieces of priceless books lie in burning piles, along with shattered pieces of bookcases, flaming chairs, and thankfully the real Jacques currently wearing the absolutely horrid self portrait of himself over his head, while Uncle Alex glares at him hatefully, his right hand raised to strike once more.

SMACK

Winter can't help but wince as she covers her human ears while her wolf ones flop down at the loud, echoing blow. But despite all of this, she can clearly hear the continued verbal argument between them.

"Ah said sign em, you son of a bitch!" Alex roars as he holds a stack of papers in what is now clearly identifiable as robotic hand, a few shreds of deeply tanned skin left on it.

"Never, you inbred piece of animal trash!" Jacques roars back. However, Winter can see the damage the heavy blows have already caused. Both of Father's lips are swollen and bleeding, as well as his nose and one eyebrow, the eye underneath swelling shut.

SMACK

"You're done ruining Mama's good name, you hear me you bastard son of ah moose! You ruined thousands of lives, including your own children's, and for what? Power? Respect? Glory?" Alex growls out as he glares hatefully at the battered, yet defiant CEO.

"Like an animal like you would truly understand." Jacques sneers before spitting out a broken tooth. "I took a pathetic faunus owned company and proved it's worth to the world under more appropriate leadership. Tell me dog man, could you have done any better?"

Smack

Alex stares in shock as Winter strikes the next blow, a snarl on her lips and her eyes full of her own barely contained rage. "Don't you ever insult a better man than yourself, you coward!" She screams into his face as she strikes him again, this time with a balled up fist instead of her palm. "You blinded my sister! You bullied and mentally abused us all you sick pathetic fuck! And for what?!" She shrieks as she tries to hit him again, only to be restrained by her mountain of an uncle. "Answer me you fucking monster!"

Jacques never loses his sneer, even as he spits out another tooth. "To show you animals your proper place, and that is under my heel. Your precious red eyed sister was the only one of you to show even the slightest bit of courage and truly stand up to me, and she paid for her insolence with her sight. And once I am free, you shall pay dearly for striking me, you misbegotten welp!" He snarls. "I should have drowned you all the moment you came howling from your mother's cursed womb!"

Winter squeals as Alex tosses her away along with the papers before descending upon Jacques like the personification of fury itself. His first heavy punch connects solidly with Jacques' face, knocking him backwards out of the ruined portrait and slamming him bodily to the floor. Ripping his way through canvas, wood and horrible paint, he grabs the CEO by the ruined collar of his once expensive suit with his mechanical arm and slams him heavily onto the top of the solid oak desk that once belonged to Snowy Schnee before punching him repeatedly with heavy blows that soon have the wood underneath cracking and splintering.

Winter can only watch with an almost detached horror as her gentle giant Uncle Alex is rapidly and savagely beating her father, no her sperm donor to death. Her main thought is not to stop him, but a deep regret that Willow isn't here to see this for herself. Long have the two of them struggled to see themselves free from his influence and torture, but sought to free Weiss and Whitley even more. And now, their freedom is at hand.

"DADDY STOP!" Sienna screams as she hammers the back of his head with the butt of her rifle, a look of terror in her eyes. Winter blinks at the sudden interruption before looking down at the bloody, mangled mess that was once Jacques Schnee. But try as she might, she could not muster even a moment's pity for the tyrant who she is unfortunately part of.

For his part, Alex spits on the barely breathing mound of flesh and broken bones while still growling. "Your lucky Sienna knocked some fuckin sense into me, you cocksucker. Else I'd finish the fuckin job!"

Sienna blocks him as she looks up at him. "Enough, Daddy! Auntie wouldn't want this! Neither would Grandma and Grandpa!" She pauses for a brief moment. "Well maybe Grandma and Grandpa, but that's not the point!"

Winter nods as she stands next to her cousin and takes her hand. "Willow and I will burn him at the stake, Uncle Alex, I promise. But Mama wouldn't want you staining your hands with his death." She sighs. "We need to cure Willow. So we can see Grandma's eyes again. And we can't do that without him." She adds firmly.

Sienna nods as she squeezes Winter's hand. "We need to put Weiss, Willow and Whitley before your need for revenge, Daddy. Your need to make him pay for what he's done to this family and this company."

Klein nods as he joins the three of them, a growling Leigh moving to actually stand guard over Jacques, who is still breathing despite the beating he took at Alex's hands. "Sir Alex, Miss Ada would be disappointed in you. We both know that she would want you to help your nieces and nephews than avenge the hell he has put them through." He reminds him calmly as he stands shoulder to shoulder with Sienna.

Alex takes a deep breath, then another before wiping his mouth and forehead with the back of his sleeve, leaving small streaks of blood across both. "Get the formula outta him. And his signature." He growls out, his eyes still filled with rage. "Gotta find Justice and Mercy. Didn't wanna dirty em on him." He mutters angrily as he storms off.

Winter, Sienna and Klein watch him go before turning towards Jacques. But all three of them smirk as they hear Alex yell out one last command.

"AND TELL THAT COCKSUCKER TO GET HIS SHIT AND HIS BROKEN ASS OUTTA MAH HOUSE!"

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"By the time I found my swords, Jimmy was there arresting all of us and swarming the place with his stupid droids." Alex finishes his part of the joint story with a smirk as he sits on the couch in Carol's spacious office.

The rabbit faunus nods as she looks thoughtful. "So where's the sodomy come in?" She finally asks, getting a pair of giggles from her niece and honor daughter.

"The sperm donor was less than willing to give me this." She declares as she holds up a piece of paper, formulas written all over it in a sloppy scrawl.

"Or sign these." Sienna adds as she holds up the aforementioned papers.

Winter nods. "All it took was a not so well lubricated fist." She finishes with a firm shake of her head.

Carol chuckles as she takes the papers from both of them before sitting in Alex's lap to study them. "Ah kin work wit Katie on this part here. We'll have Willow seein straight again." She declares before going through the rest. "Wait ah sec, he didn't sign one of em."

Sienna and Winter suddenly look away as Alex sighs. "Yeah, I better let them explain that one."

Carol looks at them as she clears her throat, her foot tapping against Alex's armor plated shins. "Well?"

Sienna sighs. "We tried everything. And I do mean everything." She begins.

"We even had that poor guy's arm in his ass up to his elbow." Winter continues. "We even threatened to finish the job Uncle Alex started."

"But he wouldn't sign the disownment papers for Weiss. Even after…."

"Even after what?" Carol asks too calmly, causing the two eldest members of the Garibaldi-Schnee family to gulp. "What did you two do?"

Winter's tail tucks firmly between her legs as she begins to toe the carpet behind her with the toe of her boot. "I gelded him. It's why I'm here. It was either resign and come here as well, or face severe penalties as well as a court martial."

Carolina Scarlatina-Garibaldi blinks for a second as she stares at her niece in shock. Of all the things she expected to come out of her mouth, that was the last thing she expected to hear. Torture perhaps, she is her niece after all and Ada had a well known temper and a vicious vindictive streak that could make even grown men cower, including the normally fearless Alex.

Sienna sighs. "Sorry Mum."

Winter nods as she looks down. "General Ironwood stopped me before I could ram them down his throat."

"Dumbass got past me when he broke out the Paladins." Alex grumbles.

Carol just sighs as she stares at the paperwork to disown Weiss, his signature missing. "This ain't good." She finally declares. "She's tha main one we needed cut loose. She's betrothed ta Jaune Arc, an Jeanne Arc's come ta town ta make sure tha wedding goes off without ah hitch."

"How long we got?" Alex asks quietly.

"Spring Solstice." Carol replies as she brushes her fingers gently through Whitley's hair, the young man having slept through the entire telling of the long tale. "Good thing Fall Solstice is soon, so we still got some time."

Sienna giggles. "And I'm pretty sure Mama's grilling Weiss to find out just how much she really likes Ruby Rose." She comments idly.

"Wait, little Ruby Rose? Miss Summer and Mr. Qrow's oldest?" Winter asks curiously as she sits up straight in seat, her ears showing her alertness. "When did Weiss meet her?"

Carol smirks. "Ruby's attendin Beacon now, an she's Weiss team leader."

"Just like Sum, ah natural huntress." Alex rumbles sadly, his voice heavy with emotion. "Still can't remember much about that damned mission either."

Carol sighs as she pats his leg. "Might be fir tha best, sugar wolf."

"Maybe." Alex agrees as he looks out the window, a haunted look on his face as he rubs his mechanical forefinger and thumb together. Carol wishes sometimes that she could read his mind as easily as she could read his emotions. But sadly, she didn't inherit that particular gift from her own momma. But judging by his facial expression and his mood, his thoughts were dark enough for her to almost not want to know.

Almost…..


End file.
